Name: Harriet Tubman
Made by and When: Gloria Y. Rone, 2021
Material: Polymer clay
Marks: Signed and dated by the artist
Heights: 9-1/2, 12, and 14 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Sculpted headscarves made of polymer clay cover their heads, sculpted and painted facial features, closed mouths
Clothes: 9-1/2-inch Harriet: The standing, shortest Harriet is made of polymer clay. The dress is also made of polymer clay with a cloth handmade coat; holds a clay gun.
12-inch Harriet: The sitting Harriet has a sculpted polymer clay head wrap and wears a handmade dress and coat; holds a handmade gun and bag.
14-inch Harriet: Wears a handmade deep green dress and a grungy brown coat; carries a shotgun which is also made of clay and a lantern.
All three have hangtags that read, Harriet Tubman.
Other: Born Araminter Ross c. March 1822, and “known as the ‘Moses of her people,’ Harriet Tubman was enslaved, escaped, and helped others gain their freedom as a ‘conductor’ of the Underground Railroad. Tubman also served as a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. She is considered the first African American woman to serve in the military” (womenshistory.org). Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1919.
These three hand-sculpted dolls are all one-of-a-kind. Made as a tribute to Tubman’s work risking her life to free hundreds of enslaved Black Americans and her other humanitarian efforts, each was given a primitive appearance to look aged. Read more about the woman, Harriet Tubman, here.
Gallery (Photographs courtesy of Gloria Y. Rone)
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