Chinese Wooden Kindergarten Child from Door of Hope Mission

Live Auction

6 1/2" (17 cm.) Carved wooden head with painted locks of hair at the crown, carved and tinted facial features, cloth body, wooden limbs. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Door of Hope Mission, circa 1910, from the early period of production. Value Points: the rare little child is wearing exceptional original costume with lined tunic under lined cotton apron with pouch pocket, cotton print pants, coral and lavender silk cap and collar with embroidered and fringed details, purple slippers with embroidered cat heads at the toes, preserved in near mint condition. 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.