Summary

National doll produced to represent a Bolivian man. It was given to Monica Gates circa1960s by friends or family who had visited South America. Bolivian culture consists of a mixture of the various indigenous Indian cultures, the largest groups are Quechuas and Aymaras, with aspects of 18th Century Spanish culture. Traditional Bolivian dress for men consists of pants, a shirt, poncho and hat, which varies according to region, season and activity. Like women men may also wear a 'burden' cloth on their back to carry various items. The pipes attached to the doll's clothing are known as zampoñas, which are used throughout the Andes.

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 wearing a blue poncho over a cream shirt and trousers. It has a black hat with a wide, upturned brim and carries rope secured to its back in a sling. It holds four musical instruments. Its feet are bare.

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