Antique DOOR OF HOPE China Mission DOLL ~ Man, Original Hair Braid
This is an original, antique doll crafted by the Chinese orphans in the Door of Hope missions. The doll is intact in all respects and is in . The carved pear wood retains a light shading just as it had when it was created in the early 1900s. The doll’s clothing is intact right down to undergarments and colorful shoes. The man’s hair braid is original to the doll and is in near perfect condition. Each tooled finger is perfectly preserved, right down to the fingertips, and the eyes are bright.
I’ve had this doll for years after receiving it as a treasured gift but find myself having to seek another loving home for this handsome gentleman.
DOOR OF HOPE DOLLS: Cornelia Bonnell, an American missionary in China helped to found the Door of Hope Receiving Home in 1901. She was appalled when observing the sale of female servants, by their owners, to wealthy owners for the purpose of becoming concubines. She started the home, with the help of local officials, to keep the girls off the streets and help them learn a trade. The girls were taught sewing skills and dressmaking.
The Chinese Door of Hope heads and hands (after about 1914) were carved from pearwood by expert woodcarvers from the Ningpo area which was close to Shanghai where the DOH home was first started. Earlier dolls are distinguished by the absence of hands, and some were also taller than the later dolls. The dolls were then finished by the girls in the Door of Hope home. The heads were attached to stuffed cloth bodies and dressed meticulously to represent various types of Chinese characters, ages and stations.
The cloth, silks and cottons were provided by various bearby textile companies. The mission received strong local support with very little money received from overseas. Local police often brought runaways to the home for refuge. Years later, the home was divided into two homes – the Door of Hope Home for older girls and the Love School for girls under 13 years of age.
By 1940, 25 different dolls were being produced and others were made on special order. However, production was sporadic as supplies became limited. In 1949, when the Communists took over China, the DOH mission re-located to Taipei, Formosa, but few dolls seem to have been made there. The girls earned from 3 to 5 cents an hour for their work and could complete about one doll a month. It is estimated that in the 48 years the Door of Hope mission existed, less than 50,000 dolls were made.
The dolls were made mainly for tourists, but many of the Chinese missionaries distributed them to their own countries including China, England, Australia, the United States, and Africa.
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U.S. is offered by Flat Rate Priority Mail for $15. International shipping via First Class post is $20.
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