Chinese Wooden Child Doll from Door of Hope Mission

Live Auction

6" (15 cm.) Carved wooden head with balding crown, painted black pate decorated with painted red combs, original silk cap with multi-colored pom-poms to which are attached thread hair fringe and queue, carved and painted facial features, cloth body with wooden hands. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Chinese Door of Hope mission, circa 1910. Value Points: the rare early child has gentle expression, wearing original coral and pale aqua-green silk tunic and pants, embroidered slippers and headdress. 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.