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Doll

Unknown1800/1900

Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid

Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid
Madrid, Spain

Doll made of a cylindrical body partially covered with glass beads. These fragile dolls, as in other African cultures, were not created for fun, but rather to be used by girls and adolescents as a symbol of fertility that would arise in their future motherhood; a characteristic of great importance in traditional African societies. The glass beads were acquired via trade between this African region and countries at the other side of the Indian Ocean.

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  • Title: Doll
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: 1800/1900
  • Physical Dimensions: w6 x h23.5 cm
  • Provenance: Collection assembled by Austrian physician Emil Holub (1847-1902) during his work in Southern Africa between 1872 and 1887, which was later distributed among various European museums.
  • Type: Ritual objects
  • External Link: CERES
  • Photographer: Miguel Ángel Otero, 2010
  • Materials: Squash, glass beads, leather, vegetable fibers, cane
  • Cultural Context: Ngwato, Botswana
Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid

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