With the release of Mattel’s new Barbie movie and a renewed public interest in dolls, it only felt fitting to share the Barbie that we have in the Museum’s handling collection alongside some of the dolls in the Object collection. Barbie and the Barbie movie connect to the dolls in the Pitt Rivers Museum collection in fascinating and unexpected ways, from spirituality to her dual purpose as a toy and collector’s item.
One obvious similarity that can be identified is between Barbie and the jointed Greek Pottery dolls on display in the Doll's case in the Museum’s Lower Gallery. These types of dolls have primarily been excavated at temples and gravesites and, according to the Palatine Anthology, were dedicated to the gods by girls before their wedding to signify the end of her childhood. Terracotta dolls with articulated limbs continue to be a subject of debate among scholars, with some arguing that they clearly weren’t meant to be played with due to their fragile materiality, and others pointing out that their kinetic structure inidcates that they were meant to be used as toys. I personally agree with the viewpoint that they might have been used for both- as an effigy dedicated to the gods or buried alongside young girls who experienced an untimely death, but also treated as toys (perhaps with material differences between the dolls being played with in the human world and in the afterlife).
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| 1917.53.516 Jointed pottery dolls from Greece donated in 1917. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum |
This of course raises the question: are all dolls meant to be played with? Dolls have a long history of being associated with ritual and magic, but often dolls don’t fit into the neat categories of “for ritual” and “for play” as many Western scholars like to classify them. Most dolls have played a multitude of roles that have waxed and waned in significance over the course of their histories, causing the concepts of “play” and “ritual” to frequently overlap. We see this interaction between the human and magical world in the Barbie movie when, “stereotypical Barbie'', played by Margot Robbie, makes the journey from Barbie Land to the human world to find out who’s playing with her, as actions in the human world have started to influence her experience as a toy. The role of dolls as intermediaries between the human realm and intangible realms, like the spirit world, is an idea that has existed across cultures past and present. One example of this at Pitt Rivers Museum is the collection of Nenets Uko dolls, which are made from the beaks of migratory birds and dressed in traditional Nenets clothing.
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| 1935.52.14 Nenets Uno doll with head made of goose beak. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum |
The beaks of migratory water birds are used to create Uko dolls because it was believed that these birds fly away to the Nenets god Num every year, making them innocent, pure, and able to protect the children. The use of beaks also allowed Nenets people to leave the dolls faceless to avoid humanising them. It was once a widely accepted notion that giving a doll a human face gives it a human spirit, and potentially the ability to harm its user (especially if the user has played with them too roughly). Over time, the function of Uko dolls within Nenets culture has shifted from religious objects to beloved children’s toys. Despite this shift, Uko dolls remain closely linked to Nenets spirituality. According to ancient Nenets beliefs, a girl’s actions when playing with Uko dolls (including breaking or losing them) can foretell her future destiny, so playing with them carefully and putting them away in special pouches known as “padko” was encouraged.
Both of the examples above link dolls to childhood, but there are numerous historic and contemporary examples of dolls and dollhouses being purchased by adults. Adults purchasing dolls and dollhouses is nothing new- one of the earliest recorded purchases of a doll's house was one commissioned for Albert V Duke of Bavaria in 1557-78, “as a cabinet of curiosities for the Duke’s delight.” Like doll houses, Barbie and her dream house also appeals to adult audiences, and in the newly released Barbie movie, “stereotypical Barbie” is surprised to discover that it is the mother of the family that has recently been playing with her. Off screen, Barbie is also popular among adult toy collectors- in 2021, Vice interviewed one adult with a staggering 12,000 Barbies in his collection. Although the initial intention of Ruth Handler (the inventor of Barbie) was to make a doll for little girls, over time Barbie has taken on this additional role as an object for adults.
2004.3.44 Wooden Kokeshi doll painted in the traditional style. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum
Kokeshi dolls have a similar story, and there is just one in the Pitt Rivers Museum collection. Kokeshi dolls likely originated from the Tōhoku region of Japan. They were made by woodturners, who usually made objects like plates and bowls, as toys for their children. Their simple, cylindrical shape was easy for infants to hold and play with and they eventually became gifts commonly given to newborns, sometimes with their name engraved onto the doll.
The introduction of railroads during the Meiji era (1868-1912) resulted in a boom in domestic travel and Japanese farmers began travelling during their off-seasons to mountainous regions like Tōhoku to experience the hot springs. The woodturners living in these areas saw this as an opportunity to sell their wares to tourists, including kokeshi dolls. Today, Japan is visited by tourists from across the globe, and kokeshi dolls have become a coveted souvenir for those visiting its onsen towns and looking to bring back a piece of rural charm from their holiday.
All these dolls that have been researched as part of the Play! Project will be available for families to experience as part of Saturday Object Handling sessions later this year. In addition to purchasing tangible versions of Museum objects for visitors to experience, the Play! Project has also purchased some Barbies to compare to these international examples. One of these is Interior Design Barbie, who also has a disability.
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| Museum handling object. Interior design Barbie |
Mattel has a history of making problematic and stereotypical dolls but its recent career dolls and “Inspiring Women” series have demonstrated the company’s attempts at positive change. These newer designs, although continuing to portray unrealistic body proportions, have the potential to broaden the perspectives of today’s generation of children about how they view themselves and others. This enables us to initiate important conversations with children about body image and inclusion through these dolls.
If you want to learn more about the dolls at the Pitt Rivers Museum, come along to the Monday lunchtime talk on 16th October:
The section on Uko dolls was made possible thanks to material provided by members of the Nenets community and translation work carried out by Anya Gleizer.
By Megan Christo
Collections and Public Engagement Officer
Further reading:
Elderkin, K. M. (1930). Jointed Dolls in Antiquity. American Journal of Archaeology. The University of Chicago Press. pp. 455-479.
Gutschk, F. (2019). Greek Terracotta Dolls: Between the Domestic and the Religious Sphere in Hellenistic and Roman Terracottas. pp. 215–222. Doi: 10.1163/9789004384835_016.
Japan House London. Kokeshi - Japanese Wooden Dolls. [online]
Okazaki, M. (2021). Japanese Kokeshi Dolls, The Woodcraft and Culture of Japan's Iconic Wooden Dolls, Tuttle Publishing.
Ненецкая Игрушка в собрании ненецкого краеведческого музея, каталог. (Nenets Toys in the collection of The Nenets Museum of Local Lore, catalogue).
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