Pair, Chinese Wooden Door of Hope Traditional Bride and Groom

Live Auction

12" (30 cm.) Each has carved wooden head with defined facial features, cloth body and wooden hands; she with carved hair looped behind her ears and captured in a coiled chignon at the back with a decorative comb and circlet of flowers, wearing vibrant red silk embroidered tunic and skirt, matching red silk slippers, carrying red silk scarf, and with elaborately beaded headdress with red pom-poms and dangling beading and pearls; and he with side-parted short hair, wearing purple silk tunic with front and back medallions, over longer coral silk tunic, blue pants, boots, and cap. Condition: near mint. Comments: from the Chinese Door of Hope mission, rare early 1919 traditional bride and groom. Value Points: superb detail of costuming and perfect preservation, with family provenance. 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.