Ebony-Complexioned Poupée in African Costume
Designer
Bru, Léon Casimir
(French, 1837 - 1918)
Manufacturer
Bru Jne. & Cie
(French, 1866 - 1899)
Dateca. 1875-1880
OriginFrance
MediumBisque head, kid leather body
Dimensions16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
ClassificationsDoll
Credit LineGift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
Object number2017.205
Label TextFrench, Bru Jeune et Cie, (French, 1867-1899)
Léon Casimir Bru, (French1837-1918), designer
Ebony-Complexioned Poupée in African Costume
Bisque head, kid leather body, unmarked, about 1875-1880
Gift of Carolyn K. and Richard F. Barry III
The Worlds’ Fairs played a significant role in introducing foreign cultures to an international audience. Book and printmakers published illustrations of the native costumes worn in the colonial empires of European nations. French manufacturers created dolls with black complexions for an expanded market, some taking their inspiration from images in the Atlas Illustré de Ia France et de ses Colonies of 1877.
The firm Bru Jeune et Cie. responded with a series of dolls in the traditional costumes of African peoples, mostly those under French colonial rule at the time. While the model costume for this particular doll is yet unidentified, one of the few still existing examples from the series wears the traditional costume of the Wolof peoples in Senegal and Gambia, West Africa. This doll most likely also represents an indigenous costume from this region.
Status
On view
Rochard, Antoine Edmond (French, b. 1836)
about 1868
