Name: Handmade Beaded Zulu Doll
Made by and When: 1950s by South African Women
Material: Felt, beads, thread, paint
Marks: None
Height: 9 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: The head is covered with a beaded felt traditional Zulu hat. The felt eyes have hand-drawn eyebrows. The nose is hand drawn. Felt was used for the mouth.
Clothes: Wears a beaded felt Zulu hat and a beaded cape, necklace, top, apron, skirt, anklets, and earrings.
Other: Dolls of this type were used for fertility, healing, courtship, and luck in regions of South Africa. They were traditionally not sold. However, during a special drive for the Red Cross Society, the dolls were made in varying sizes and sold for charity. The majority were made during the 1950s to early 1960s in the Durban, South Africa region.
This beaded Zulu doll was a gift from Mama Jo’s House of Dolls.
Gallery
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Hi! Thank you for your web site and for the information you provide on it! I have a beaded Zulu doll that was passed down from my Grandmother. I wasn’t sure how she acquired it, but it very well could have been through the “Red Cross Society” drive. I wish I knew for sure.
Please let me know if you’d like me to send pictures of it to you. You can email me @ xxxxxx@gmail.com or text me @ xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Thank you!
David Gazjuk
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Hi David. I hope this installation was helpful for you. I cannot be 100% certain that your grandmother’s beaded Zulu doll is one of the Red Cross Society drive dolls.
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