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

The object in the museum catalogue

A miniature Black baby doll with a dark pink dress. The brown painted bisque baby doll has articulated arms and legs. The doll has wide white and black painted eyes, red painted Cupid’s bow lips, rounded cheeks, and a button nose. She has a mostly bald head with a molded crest at the top and three pigtails; one on each side of face and one at the top. The pigtails are black shredded synthetic fiber tied off with thin, dark pink ties. 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 and ribbon with synthetic fiber and string
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 3 1/2 × 1 15/16 × 1 7/16 in. (9 × 4.9 × 3.7 cm)
• Place made: Japan, Asia
• 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: 2023.48.1
• 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.