This collector's set of dolls is the first in the range of dolls depicting the stages of women's lives from various South African cultures. The art of making dolls as part of the Ndebele tradition is dying due to globalization and making and dressing these dolls and beading the aprons forms part of a private initiative to create jobs and skills development for unemployed unskilled women. The dolls range in size from 6 to 13 inches. From left to right the first doll is the Cone doll that a girl receives from her mother. The next is the Maiden doll that is part of a rite of passage and initiation. The Third is the Bridal Doll and she receives copper rings for her neck to show she is married. Then comes the Married Woman doll, the Mother with Child and the Mother with Sons and the small doll in the front is the Fertility doll given to the new bride and that must be destroyed after the birth of the third child. This is a beautiful and unique collection.
Book acquired April 2002 with information on South African dolls and figures
EVOCATIONS OF THE CHILD, book about the differents types of dolls in South Africa from the Sotho to the Ndebele. About 200 pages and pictures.(interview etc..) From the Johannesburg Art Gallery exibition reference book like Art & Ambiguity and others.