Miniature Black baby doll with a dark pink dress and red hair bows: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A miniature baby doll with a dark pink dress and red hair bows. The brown painted bisque baby doll has articulated arms and legs. The doll has wide white and black painted, side glancing eyes; red painted Cupid’s bow lips; rounded cheeks; and a button nose. She has a mostly bald head with molded, dark brown, painted locks at the top and a red bow above each of her ears. There is a small hole at the top of the head. She is wearing a dark pink, sleeveless dress constructed from pieces of identical ribbon. The body of the dress resembles a dress with bloomers. The dress wraps around the doll’s torso, under the arms. Another piece of ribbon is sewn into a ruffled skirt around the waist. Stamped on the upper back is the text [MADE IN / OCCUPIED / JAPAN].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1945-1952
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Type: baby dolls
• Medium: paint on ceramic with ribbon and string (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 3 1/16 × 1 15/16 × 1 3/16 in. (7.8 × 5 × 3 cm)
• Place made: Japan, Asia
• Place used: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Bedford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2023.48.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Claire E. Humphrey & Vickie L. Henry
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.