Doll with gown, hat and booties

This Pixytoy doll, a 'Baby Blue Eyes' model, was produced in Japan in about 1930. It is dressed in a hand-sewn fabric gown, crocheted hat and booties, and knitted undergarments.

The clothing was made by Pearl Jansen of Waitārere, who purchased the doll for her daughter Barbara in the early 1930s. Tragically, Barbara died at age 7, and the doll was put away. Pearl's daughter Marcelle does not recall seeing it until after her mother died in 1993.

Pearl rarely mentioned Barbara until late in her life, although she did note that sulfa drugs, which might have saved her daughter, came into use only six months after she died. The cause of death was peritonitis, probably complicated by pneumonia.  

The doll, an item typically associated with play and fun, became an object of pain and grief. A physical remnant of a lost child, it materialises the largely intangible experience of mourning.