It is simply astonishing how the Royal culture of Egypt has influenced craft scenes in a remote village in Bengal. A thread on Mummy Dolls of Bengal:
The wooden dolls in Bengal are not just simple toys for children but hold wider significance (1/5)
The wooden dolls in Bengal are not just simple toys for children but hold wider significance (1/5)
The carpenter communities of Bengal used to have a monopoly on the production of wooden dolls. These dolls were previously produced in the various districts of Bengal, Kalighat being the prominent region (2/5)
They are now mostly produced in Burdwan's Natungram, Daihat, and Patuli. It is said that the doll makers of Natungram, once upon a time, were stone-carvers, blessed with King’s patronage. Only after the death of the King, they started making handicrafts (3/5)
Teak wood is used to carve the dolls, which are then coloured. One of the most prominent forms is the wooden female figurines, normally painted with black, red and yellow (4/5)
The shape of these wooden female dolls has a striking resemblance to the cartonnage case in which Egyptian mummies were preserved. The dolls are thus fondly known as “Mummy Dolls”
Source: Folk art of Bengal/Ajit Coomar Mookerjee, 1939 (5/5)
Source: Folk art of Bengal/Ajit Coomar Mookerjee, 1939 (5/5)
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