Souvenir Chinese baby doll from the Libbey Glass Pavilion, an exhibitor at the fair. The bunting is made of spun glass. (CHS 1980.8)
This doll, as the caption states, was a souvenir from the Columbian Exposition of 1893. One would think at first glance that it came from an exhibit about China, but instead was a promotion put out by the Libbey Glass company.
Interestingly enough, this artifact from the Exhibition ties in nicely with the articles we'll be discussing this week about the objectification of culture. One could guess Libbey was using the doll more to showcase the use of spun glass in the design, not to portray the doll in any sense of a "politically correct" or culturally sensitive way.
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If it was a souvenir, then I'm guessing it was made right around that time? It's so strange to see something like that. Especially when you think about the types of souvenirs that we get from places today. This one seems so "strange" compared to modern-day ones, but our will probably look just as strange to people a hundred years from now. ("A hat with mouse ears? Why would anyone want to buy that?")
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