Handmade Senegalese Cloth Doll With Beaded Hair & Jewelry, 1990

Details

Description

This handmade cloth doll was purchased in Senegal in 1990 by a Peace Corps volunteer and brought to the United … Read more This handmade cloth doll was purchased in Senegal in 1990 by a Peace Corps volunteer and brought to the United States as a cultural artifact. The figure reflects West African folk-art traditions emphasizing symbolic form, textile pattern, and adornment rather than realistic portraiture.

The doll features hand-stitched facial elements, a minimalist embroidered expression, and textured yarn hair embellished with metal beads. Decorative wire jewelry—including earrings, bracelets, and neck adornment—adds visual richness and cultural character. The layered cotton garments are sewn from patterned textiles consistent with locally sourced or wax-print cloths used throughout West Africa in the late 20th century.

A metal loop on the reverse indicates the doll was intended for wall display, a common format for decorative or representational figures made for cultural exchange, teaching, or presentation rather than play.

This Folk Art decorative doll will appeal to:
African and global folk art collectors
Museum study or education collections
University programs in anthropology, African studies, or material culture
Interior designers and stylists seeking authentic, non-commercial global objects

This precious doll was acquired directly by a Peace Corps volunteer. In the late 20th century these dolls of women in traditional dress are increasingly valued for their documented cultural exchange provenance and absence of mass-market production.

You will appreciate the restrained facial expression, layered textiles, and tactile materials give this figure a quiet presence. It reads as an object made with intention—not as a souvenir, but as a representation of identity, dress, and handwork from a specific place and moment in time. See less