Faceless Dolls

I need to bring back a couple of Dominican dolls with me, meaning the kind that don't have any facial features. Does anybody know where these can be purchased in Santo Domingo within a reasonable degree of convenience? Keep the smart ass stuff out guys, You know how sensitive I am.

You probably know this but be careful how you pack those dolls. They are VERY fragile. I bought three of them only two made it. I even took them with me as carry on but those overhead compartments were a little over stuffed. Regards, Matt

A cab driver from la Hispaniola hotel took us to a shop on a corner of a T intersection where the top of the T was a beautiful old church in the Zona Colonial. "De Mi Pais Gift Shop" is what was on my charge card. They had amber, rum, etc. and the dolls. They come in different sizes and costumes. They are porcelain. Kind of Victorian. And no face. They said, since there is no one skin color, or facial characteristic of the Dominican woman, they are faceless. Don't know the cost. They were willing to bargain on the small amber fossils. Hope you find what you want. Have a good trip.
MK

Can someone please explain the story behind the faceless dolls?

marc

I have heard several stories, the most likely (& unromantic) is that the factory makers were not skilled in doing faces, so left them blank. Canadian Bob.

The one I heard is that there is no ONE face of a Dominican so they left it blank. There are very dark skinned Dominicans, Taino indian Dominicans, Spanish, North European, Latin American & African plus many more faces that make up the Dominican community, so how do you make one face out of that lot? Sounds plausible but may not be correct!! - Grahame.

Grahame,

I saw a TV documentary once that included an interview with the woman who started the faceless doll craze, and she gave exactly the rationale you just cited.
Regards,
Keith

DR1 2000 Archive

Re: Why do the dolls. . ."Machantas"

Posted By: "Una Compatriota"

In Response To: Re: Dolls have no faces? (Christopher Stoll)

My original post from the archives:

In Response To: Why do the dolls have no faces? (Kira)

A few years ago, when I visited the DR, I fell in love with the faceless ceramic dolls. At that time they were very popular and I thought they were beautiful. I found out that they were made in Santiago by the Lime (le-mea') factory. For the readers not familiar with the subject, the dolls are made of glazed terra
cotta and painted in beautiful bright colors. At that time I was intrigued by the fact that they were faceless. On my visit to the factory I was told the story of the dolls while waiting for the clerks to pack my purchases for travel. The dolls represent the women selling produce door to door in our towns and cities and that these vendors knew each of the households and their daily purchases. These ladies are called "Machantas" which I am sure comes from the English word merchant. To this day they remain forever nameless and faceless to all the housewives who have bought their produce for years. So, to honor the "Machantas" they made these dolls. As for myself (as a Dominican) I believe that this is very close to the real story, due to the way the dolls are dressed. That's how I remember the "Machantas" (as a child in the DR) not the average Dominican woman, Campesinas or not.

"Una Compatriota"

Post script: be careful in your purchase, there are many counterfeit examples the the "Lime Dolls" and the fakes are not as well finished as the originals.