The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Pair of Dolls
1900s
Gift of Harry W. Langworthy 1996.267
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Dolls like this were sold at markets where they were purchased as symbolic playthings for girls or souvenirs for tourists.Description
Young Ibibio girls would play with dolls for fun. They also took on deeper significance when a girl entered seclusion to go through preparations for adulthood and marriage, representing her future children and promoting her fertility. The kaolin (white clay) that once covered the figures' bodies has been worn off, possibly through handling during play. Thin lines represent uli, a kind of body painting. Upraised, foreshortened hands with open fingers were typical of dolls carved by Ibibio people from the Anang group.- ?–1996Harry W. Langworthy III (?–1996)1996–Cleveland Museum of Art by gift
- The Cleveland Museum of Art "CMA Annual Report, 1996" (Cleveland, CMA, 1997), p. 46.
- {{cite web|title=Pair of Dolls|url=false|author=|year=1900s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.267