item details
NameKewpie Doll
ProductionUnknown; manufacturer(s); circa 1960s; Hong Kong
Mrs Joan Smart; maker/artist; circa 1960s; New Zealand
Mrs Joan Smart; maker/artist; circa 1960s; New Zealand
Classificationdolls
Materialsplastic, cotton, wool, paint
Dimensions120mm, 180mm, 65mm
Registration NumberGH017573
Credit lineGift of Mrs J. R. Smart, 2012
Overview
Kewpie Doll
This Kewpie doll was made in the 1960s was a favourite of Joan Smart who crocheted its dress. It has most of the original Kewpie doll features including the chubby roly-poly babyish features that were meant to depict the alter-ego of the Roman myth of cupid, small moulded wings on its back and starfish-like outstretched hands.
The kewpie dolls are based on a comic strip-like illustration by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. The first examples were made in Germany out of bisque and then celluloid.