When a young Namji man courts a girl and wishes to marry her, such a doll is carved and elaborately decorated. The man then gives it as a gift to his ‘intended’. She wears the doll in her clothes with her, signalling her agreement to the marriage. Also later, women who wish to bear children carry such dolls in an ornamented bag on their back.
The present ‘Namji doll’ shows the ‘classical’ style of such a figure: highly abstract, standing rigid and straight, with broad stylised head, eyes of white, inserted glass beads, with an earring (red glass bead) and a sketched mouth. With carved crested coiffure, in this case supplemented with real hair, with a long, offset neck which is wrapped in a chain of yellowish glass beads. Arms and legs are characteristically ‘abstractly’ bent and the body wears the typical, rich ornaments of these dolls: on a background of old fabric have been attached many strands of white, red, blue and orange glass beads, leather bands, a copper bracelet and woven, fabric strips. From both arms hang leather strips, on to which are attached pierced cowrie shells and four coins with the following mint dates: 1921, 1942, 1943 and 1959. Good patina, no damage.
Height: 35 cm. Mid-20th century. (ME)

Provenance: Austrian private collection.