costumes americas

BACK

Two cute plastic with fabric clothes costume dolls

ANGUILLA

Topsy Turvy Doll

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Cloth/rag doll from Antigua

ARGENTINA

This doll represents a gaucho (cowboy)

An argentinian musician carrying a flute in his right hand

Peggy Nisbet Doll

This is a costume doll representing a lady from Argentina, made by Peggy Nisbet. This doll is from the early 70's

Pampas

Doll from the Pampas (grasslands region)

ARUBA

Plastic inexpensive traditional costume doll from Aruba

BAHAMAS

Cloth doll from the Bahamas, on her apron it says Bahama Mama

BARBADOS

Traditional barbados tourist doll made of rope and fabric

Topsy Turvy Doll

Topsy Turvy Doll

Canadian indian doll. Her tag reads "Indien art eskimo"

BELIZE

A cloth tourist doll from Belize, she has Belize written across her chest

Hand made doll of paper macher representing a Belize woman, she is carrying a bundle of rope on her head

BERMUDA

Bermuda doll dressed as a musician with wooden drum.

BOLIVIA

Peggy Huffman doll

Bolivia was Peggy Huffman's doll of the month in january 1958. Her name is Fanny and she is dressed in traditional bolivian costume, she is made of plastic and has sleepy eyes. Her label reads "January, 1958, doll of the month, Fanny from Bolivia, S.A. A Peggy Huffman original Jefferson City, MO"

Hand made traditional bolivian doll, wearing a pink dress

Chola doll

Bolivian Tarabuco dolls in Tinku helmet

Tarabuco, Chuquisaca

This doll is called "Ekeko", He represents the god of plenty, hence all the items he is carrying- bags of foods, money, instruments etcf. He is made completely out of clay with painted features and painted clothing. The Bolivian people are very superstitious and believe these dolls bring good luck if you give them cigarettes and alcohol.

Tarabuco, Chuquisaca

Aymara people

Oruro

Oruro dancer

Cochebamba

BONAIRE

BRAZIL

Joao Perotti Doll

Estrela Doll

This doll was made by the brazilian toy manufaturer Estrela. In 1937 this company started to make dolls and toys. In 1944 this company became a publicly traded corporation. This doll is made of composition, produced in the late 30's in Sao Paolo

She was handmade in 1940 in Sao Paulo by Joao Perotti

Traditional brazilian carnival doll

Traditional brazilian carnival doll

This doll was hand made by Brazilian indians in the Amazon RainForest

Rio de Janeiro

Traditional brazilian carnival doll

Rio de Janeiro

CANADA

Hand made eskimo doll from Canada, label reads "Indien Art Eskimo"

This doll is made of hard plastic, has sleepy eyes. She was made in 1958, I believe she is from Ontario and represents an Amish lady

Ontario

CUBA

Indien Art Eskimo

Hand made eskimo doll from Canada, label reads "Indien Art Eskimo"

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Plastic doll in traditional cayman outfit. The label reads designed for Tortuga Rum company ltd.

CHILE

Hand made clay doll. This doll represents a chilean cueca dancer girl

COLOMBIA

Matching couple of Colombian peasant dolls wearing traditional costumes. A lovely family with baby, made of stuffed cloth. Their hats are stitched together to keep them together as a set. A person from a rural area or peasant is called campesina (female) or campesino ( male) in Spanish

COSTA RICA

CUBA

Santeira Orisha Doll Yemaya

The yoruba people from West Africa were once brought as slaves to the Americas. In yoruba religion there are spirits called Orisha. Orisha playan important role in the Santeria religion of Cuba. Santeria is a mixture of Yoruba religion, Roman Catholicism and Spiritism and developed during the late 19th century

Santeira Orisha Doll Oshun

Cuban souvenir. marked "Cuba". A musician or dancer, playing a pair of maracas. A maraca ia an handheld instrument made of dried squash with a wooden handle. It is filled with seeds to make the traditional maraca sound

CURACAO

DOMINICA

Hand made woven straw basket doll. She is wearing a sash that reads Dominica W.I.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

ECUADOR

Otavalo, Imbabura Province

Matching pair of dolls from Otavalo in the Imbabura province in Ecuador. The female is wearing the typical skirt of the region, the coloured skirt opens at one side to show the white under skirt. She carries a swaddled baby on her back. The male is playing the rondador, the Ecuadorian pan pipe. Both stands are marked "Ecuador"

Azuay Province

Doll is marked "chola cuencana" on her stand meaning that she is a peasant woman of mixed race from the Cuenca canton(Azuay Province) In this region chola is the name given to mestiza, women of Europeanand American descent. She is holding two unfinished woven toquilla straw hats and a bunch of straw so that indicates she is a hatter. These hats are also called Panama hats but they originate from Ecuador

BACK

Hand made cloth doll. I actually purchased this doll in a south american store in spain in 2001

EL SALVADOR

Traditional doll from San Salvador. Made out of clay and has El Salvador C.A. printed on the base

Vintage 70's doll. She appears to be carrying a bundle of hay on her head.

Traditional doll from San Salvador. Made out of clay

FRENCH GUIANA

GREENLAND

Traditional man from Greenland with baby on back probably from the 60's

Male doll representing the inuit people of Greenland. He is a hunter, dressed in fur to endore the cold. His pants appear to be made of wool to look like the traditional pants made of polar bear fur. His anorak seems to be real sealskin.

West Greenland

Female doll representing the inuit people of Greenland, wearing a beaded collar called " yoke". The glass beads cme to Greenland when trading with Europeans started. The yoke originates from West Greenland. The seal skin pants are short as the boots cover most of the legs.

GRENADA

Topsy turvy doll

Hand made topsy turvy doll. Both images are of the same doll. She is carrying a basket on her head which says "spice doll". In the basket are real spices, she even smells like ginger

GUADELOUPE

BACK

GUATEMALA

1970'S Hard padded doll with button eyes, her mouth is made of felt

Hand made tourist doll from Guatemala

GUYANA ( British Guiana )

Kimport doll

Although this doll has the appearence of a traditional indian man, he is actually from Guyana, formerly known as British Guiana. After the abolishment of slavery in British Guyana in 1838, the british were recruiting cheap laborers from east India to do the work that the freed slaves now refused to do. These Indians were recruited to help save an ailing sugar industry in Guyana. In exchange for the work they were given small wages, a roof over their heads, and a passage to Guyana. The indians had preserved all their ancient customs. British Guiana was a fertile land and these east indians helped greatly in the establishment of wilde plantations where tea, coffee, many tropical fruits and vegetables flourish in the moist heat. This unique doll is an authentic picture of an important part of the population of Guyana, the east Indian. This doll is made out of a rubber like substance and has a label that reads"Kimport dolls, Independence MO, This doll was made in British Guiana" The doll was made in 1952

HAITI

Hand made cloth doll, with straw hat and hand painted face

Traditional Haiti cloth doll

HONDURAS

Hand made cloth tourist doll

JAMAICA

MARTINIQUE

Sandra Dogue Doll

These are the most common Martinique plastic tourist dolls

MEXICO

Chiapa de Corzo

Hand made mexican doll representing a parachico dancer from a small town, Chiapa de Corzo. These dancers dance during a big festival that takes place in january. The festivity takes place in honor of the local patron saints Our lords of Esquipolas, Saint Anthony Abbot, and Saint Sebastian. He is carrying metallic rattles which they put on their feet for dance.

This doll was sent to me by my mexican friend, Wethna. Very colorful probably the most traditional mexican tourist doll. She is made of cloth

Two mexican costume dolls made of clay with hand painted features, these dolls are from the early 70's representing a couple during the mexican revolution

I bought this doll at a flea market in the early 90's. I do believe it's a lot older. It is made of hard plastic

Mexican folk art doll made out of paper macher

Vera Cruz

MONTSERRAT

Traditional Caribbean "Take me home" doll from the island of Montserrat.

NICARAGUA

Nicaragua palm leaf doll

PANAMA

Kuna Yala

Old fabric doll wearing Mola, skirt and beads from Kuna ( Guna ) Yala near Panama City

Panama Canal rainforest

Handcrafted in the Panama Canal Rainforest

PARAGUAY

This is a Paraguay souvenir doll from around 1965. She is made of cloth and has a painted face, holding a little ceramic pot

PERU

Traditional peruan cloth doll of lady holding a lama

Chancay Burial Dolls

PUERTO RICO

Vintage puerto rican doll, probably from the 50's. His body is made of cloth, his face is plastic. She wears a ribbon around her waist that says Puerto Rico.

Nice vintage Trinidad cloth doll, in one hand she holds a pineapple.

SABA

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

SAINT LUCIA

SAINT MAARTEN

Traditional Saint Maarten rag doll. She represents a Saint Maarten school girl. She has a tag attached to her that reads "Designed and created on St. Maarten by Charlotte"

Traditional Saint Maarten cloth doll representing a sailor man

Topsy Turvy Doll

Reversible St Maarten cloth doll. This doll was purchased in 2001

Saint Maarten traditional rag doll

Topsy Turvy Doll

SAINT MARTIN

Topsy Turvy Doll

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Traditional St. Vincent cloth doll

SURINAME

Traditional doll from suriname

Plastic tourist doll in traditional dress

This doll was brought back for me by a friend a few months ago. She bought it from a traditional Indian tribe

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

This is my most recent doll from Trinidad. Quite different from the traditional ones i know such as posted below. This doll is marked on her foot with a stamp made in "Trinidad and Tobago"

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Alaska

Traditional alaskan eskimo

California

This doll represents a hippy from Mendocino county in California

Florida

Vintage handmade seminole indian doll. Aproximately 40 years old. she has an embroiderd face, a palmetto fiber cone shaped body. made by the native seminole indian tribe in Florida

IOWA

Old Iowa corn doll, probably from the 40's

Small plastic pilgrim doll

Missouri Princess ( Carlson doll )

This is a Carlson doll from the early 60's. She represents a native indian from Missouri

Massachussets, Boston

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Amish boy and girl from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Plastic native indian doll

Cloth doll representing a Navajo indian. These indians reside in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona

These dolls were known as dress me dolls and were manufactured by thousands after world war II untill the early 60's. They were sold anywhere from supermarkets to drug stores. This particular doll probably represents a brides maid

Carlson doll

"Cow girl"

These are not authentic native american dolls. They were distributed by the wash detergent OMO in the early 70's. These 2 little dolls represent native american indians

This doll is an african american Mammy doll

The Ozarks, Arkansas

New Orleans, Louisiana

Alaska

Alaskan eskimo with baby

Skookum

Navajo

Skookum

Navajo

Skookum

Navajo

Seminole

Alaska

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Amish boy and girl from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Iroquois

Navajo

URUGUAY

Handmade costume dolls of Uruguay couple

VENEZUELA

Cloth over wire doll from the 1960's

San Francisco de Yare- Devil Dancer

Devil Dancer doll marked Venezuela and Diablo de Yare in handwriting on and under its stand

VIRGIN ISLANDS ( British )

Tortola

This doll is from Tortola ( The largest island in the Virgin Islands) This is a cloth/rag doll representing a native woman

VIRGIN ISLANDS (U.S.)

These are 2 hand made cloth dolls from the 1950´s. They have head baskets, stuffed black cloth, painted facial features, woven straw head baskets full of paper fruit, red print head scarves, and gold hoop earrings