Summary

National doll produced to represent a middle class Argentinian woman. It was given to Monica Gates circa1960s by friends or family who had visited South America. The upper-class in Argentina can generally trace their origins to more than five generations in the country. Traditionally the Argentine upper class was formed by the landowners of large estates who had immigrated from Spain or Italy early in Argentina's development. Consequently the type of clothing traditionally worn by the upper class is similar to the clothing worn by the Spanish colonisers, with adjustments for climate and introduction of new colours and patterns drawn from local culture.

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 wearing a thick red dress which has embroidery of black blue, white, red, green and yellow around the hem. Over the dress is thin, white shall with some silver embroidery and trimmed with tassels. On her feet she has white shoes with black laces. Her hair is tied back in a braid or plait and has a white ribbon to decorate it. Around her neck hangs a gold cross on a chain. Other jewelry includes ear-rings and two bracelets, one on each wrist. In her hands she holds a light blue jug with navy blue decorations and handle.

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