Summary

National Doll produced to represent an Israeli woman. Dolls are among the most universal toys found throughout the world and through history. Ornamental dolls can also be used to represent aspects of cultural traditions, such as dress.

Israel is the world's only Jewish-majority state, and is defined as a Jewish and democratic state in its Basic Laws. It declared independence on 14 May 1948. The majority of the population are Jewish, approximately 75% in 2011, although there is also a substantial Arab population, approximately 20% in 2011, which includes Muslims and Christians. Israel's 'Law of Return' grants all Jews and those of Jewish lineage the right to Israeli citizenship.

This doll comes from a collection of approximately 150 dolls in an array of national and regional costumes which were collected by Edna Setford from 1964-1988. Her husband Clifford continued the collection until his death in 1997. The collection is the work of both Edna and Clifford as well as many friends and family who brought dolls home to Edna as gifts from overseas trips. The final doll arrived two days after Clifford's death. This doll was purchased in Israel.

These dolls were purchased as souvenirs of particular countries and like many mass produced souvenirs they are often not accurate representations of a particular country or region, and may actually better reflect neighbouring counties or regions. This occurs because costumes are often stylised and simplified resulting dolls wearing generic costume elements which are common to many countries/regions. Often the fabrics and decorations used are selected to make the dolls cheap and easy to manufacture and aesthetically pleasing. This can result in the fabrics, colours and decorations of the doll's clothing having little or no reflection of the costume associated with a particular country or region they are meant to be representative of.

Physical Description

Female doll wearing a long sleeved yellow blouse and a bright blue robe which is wrapped over her head and one shoulder. She carries a large pot on her right shoulder and wears black thongs.

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