Original Antique Boudoir Souvenir Doll

Hair/Eyes/Mouth: Sculpted black hair/painted black irises with a brown dot that highlights each pupil/closed red lips Clothes: Sewn-on island-style, full-length blue dress,/golden floral design dress has lace-trimmed bell sleeves and a red sash that reads “Miss H…” It is possible that the sash blue originally read “Miss Haiti”; the other letters were scratched off at some point. (a head scarf set at the crown of the head). Other: This stately-looking doll was possibly sold as a souvenir doll to a tourist of a Caribbean island during the 1940s before making its way to America where it remains. *“A tignon (tiyon) is a headdress used to conceal hair. It was adorned by free and slave Creole women of African ancestry in Louisiana in 1786 [worn as a result of the sumptuary law], which was enacted under Governor Esteban Rodriguez Miró. The regulation was meant as a means to regulate the style of dress and appearance for people of color. Black women’s features often attracted male white, French, and Spanish suitors and their beauty was a perceived threat to white women. The tignon law was a tactic used to combat the men pursuing and engaging in affairs with Creole women. Simply put, black women competed too openly with white women by dressing elegantly and possessing note-worth beauty.