Dig It - 12/29/22
Dig It!
This doll was made in the Late 19th Century by the Mojave Indians, Desert dwellers along the lower Colorado River where Arizona borders California. This doll is a boy with a body made of clay and the additions of glass bead earrings, beaded chokers, and hair. His body is fully painted, some of which represent Tattoos. Under the fiber wrappings of the cradle, he wears a loin cloth. I have always been attracted to these Mojave and Yuma dolls, partially because, though their faces and bodies are so cartoony, their costume details are not. I also love their bright yellow and red paint. Because the Mojave Reservation was near where the trains stopped to cross the Colorado River, a fair amount of these dolls were made and collected. The manufacture and selling of these dolls must have been a fairly important industry for the Mojave and a major source of cash.