Summary

National Doll produced to represent a Greek woman, it was given to Monica Gates, circa 1978. Women's folk costumes in Greece are comprised of several basic elements: shirt and skirt or dress, apron, head covering either a head scarf, hat or both, stockings and shoes. Colour, ornamentation, fabrics and the style of individual items are used to denote regional differences.

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

Female doll in a long, red skirt with yellow flowers. At the bottom is a golden trimming. Under her skirt she is wearing a white slip and at her feet she has red painted shoes. She has a cream coloured blouse with long sleeves and under her breasts she has a huge silver ribbon in a horseshoe bend. Over her blouse she wears a dark blue lace stole. At the back of her head are two twisted plaits sitting The girl has red hairs. Her hairs are covered with a square head scarf in the same material as her skirt. Around her neck she has a pearl necklace. Under her dress she is wearing bloomers with a lace line around her legs.

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