Chinese Wooden Doll Portraying Older Woman from Door of Hope Mission

Live Auction

11" (28 cm.) Carved wooden head with painted thinning hair captured in a comb-fitted chignon at the back of her head, carved and painted facial features, cloth body, wooden hands, wearing original purple brochade silk tunic, black skirt over grey silk short pants, stitched on blue shoes. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Chinese Door of Hope Mission, circa 1920. Value Points: depicted is older woman with incised age wrinkles on forehead. rare slippers. During the 1920s, young Mary Louise Ulmer of Pottsville, Pa. traveled with her parents to China and other countries of the Far East, collecting artifacts from those voyages. These artifacts remained in the family holdings for three generations, until this time, a century later, during which they have been carefully nurtured and preserved. Among the artifacts are the Door of Hope dolls presented here, for the first time on the collecting market. A copy of the letter of provenance is presented with each doll.