Summary

National doll produced to represent a Pakistani woman. It was given to Monica Gates circa 1970s-1980s. The most well known form of traditional dress in Pakistan is the Shalwar Kameez which is worn by both men and women. It consists of a long tunic worn with a wide leg trouser and women generally wear a head covering.

The Gates collection contains 170 national dolls from 74 different countries and some correspondence relating to the acquisition of several of the dolls. The costumes of the dolls represent national costumes from the 19th Century to the 1990s. Monica Gates collected or was given these dolls between 1957 and 1990.

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

Doll, female, Pakistani. She has a cloth body with bisque legs, arms and head. She is wearing wide pink trousers with orange stitching around the hems. She has a matching pink overshirt with a deep white border around the cuffs and hem and a long silver yoke. She has a white covering over her hair and is wearing blue bracelets, three silver chain necklaces and beaded orange and yellow earrings. She has painted red shoes and is mounted on a square black wooden base.

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