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Lot 15
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1950s Native American Apple-Headed Doll
1950s Native American Apple-Headed Doll
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Description:

North America, United States, ca. 1950s. A delightful folk art doll of a Native American woman in which the head is made from a desiccated apple. Her wrinkled visage is detailed with black pins for eyes, skillfully modeled features, red pins for earrings, and long black braids, all topped by a red head covering. The woman wears a multi-colored Native American inspired cotton shawl or blanket, white deer hide leg coverings, and wooden moccasins adorned with red and orange decorative motifs over a white ground. She sits upon green "ground" comprised of woven yarn attached to a wooden base, accompanied by a wicker basket full of miniature red wooden apples with green yarn leaves and two additional miniature apples on the 'grass' to the other side of her raised legs. A charming apple head Native American doll that exemplifies this folk art tradition beautifully! Size: 10.5" L x 10.75" W x 6.875" H (26.7 cm x 27.3 cm x 17.5 cm)

Such apple headed dolls were intended to display artistry rather than to be used as children's toys. The practice of using dried apples as doll heads originated with Native Americans, and has been posited as an Iroquois or Seneca creation. The colonists had an affinity for them, and native peoples began making costumed apple-head dolls to sell to them. Between 1913 and the 1960s, Skookum dolls wearing indigenous dress became popular, and these were initially made with apple heads as well, though Mary Dwyer McAboy, their creator, was not an indigenous person.

Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection

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#141328

  • Condition: Age wear and losses to the woven "grass" as shown. Two apples attached to grass are a bit loose. Age wear and some losses to the wicker basket which while still attached to the 'grass' is loose as well.

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April 1, 2021 10:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000