FIGURINE - RARE 1920s Door of Hope Mission Dolls Shanghai - SET OF 4 - 10 inch / 25cm - Pear Wood - Family Set

RARE ANTIQUE - 100% ORIGINAL DOOR OF HOPE MISSION DOLLS - SHANGHAI 1920s-1930s - SET OF 4

For the serious collector - not a toy, not a reproduction. This is a complete Family Set from the famous Christian Door of Hope Mission in Shanghai.

HISTORY - WHY THEY ARE VALUABLE:
After the Boxer Rebellion 1900, the Door of Hope Mission was founded to rescue young Chinese girls from poverty. To fund the mission, the girls were taught to hand-make these incredible dolls, each taking over a month. Each one depicts a different social class in old China. They were sold to foreigners and missionaries and brought back to Ireland / UK / USA in the 1920s-30s. Production stopped in 1949. All dolls are pear-wood head, hand-carved, hand-painted, with real hair, wooden hands, and 3-5 layers of silk/brocade clothing hand-sewn.

WHAT YOU GET - 4 DOLLS - 10 inch / 25cm - See tape measure photos:

1. GRANDFATHER / OLD SCHOLAR - The Star of the Set
- Dark navy silk robe with silver brocade trim, grey brocade waistcoat with green frog buttons.
- Head: Hand-carved pear wood, deep carved wrinkles, white real-hair beard and moustache, painted eyes, iconic wart on nose.
- CONDITION NOTE - HONEST: Small paint loss/wear on tip of nose and on wart - bare wood showing. See RED CIRCLE photo. Age wear, not damage. Head is solid, no cracks. This is very common and documented in auction houses. See photos with measuring tape.

2. GRANDMOTHER / OLD WOMAN - 1920s
- Light sky-blue silk top with blue brocade collar, black satin skirt with silver trim, light blue silk pants underneath.
- Hair in tight bun with original green jade-tone pin, red lips, lotus bound-feet shoes with purple trim.
- Same 10" / 25cm. Excellent face paint.

3. YOUNG GIRL - Festival Dress
- Bright RED silk jacket - Heavy embroidery: central blue flower with silver thread, green leaves, silver trim on cuffs.
- Double braids with original pink wool ties, green pants with pink knots, embroidered slippers.
- Brightest colours of the set.

4. YOUNG BOY - Festival Hat
- RED silk jacket with GOLD metallic thread embroidery - Big purple/gold "Shou - Longevity Peach" symbol on chest - see close-ups of feather stitch.
- Emerald green trousers with pink/purple embroidered knots, red festival hat with green pom-pom and brass longevity coin on forehead.
- Cheeks hand-painted red.

ALL ORIGINAL FEATURES:
- Pear wood heads (not composition, not plastic), cloth bodies stuffed with cotton, wooden hands with 5 separate fingers.
- All clothes original - silk, brocade, cotton linings. Frog closures working. Cloth soles on shoes hand-stitched.
- NO "Made in China" paper tag - reproductions from 1960s have that tag. Originals like these NEVER had a tag.
- Measured: 25cm tall (10 inch) as per international standard. Weight approx 80-95g each.

OVERALL CONDITION - ANTIQUE GOOD:
- Good antique condition for 90-100 years old. Light fading to blues (normal for this silk), minor fraying on edges, light soil on boy's green pants - see macro photos.
- Grandfather: nose wear as noted above (see photo with red circle) - this is priced in.
- No broken limbs, no repainted faces, no replaced clothes. Kept in wicker display basket for 40+ years (basket available if wanted).

PROVENANCE:
Private house clearance, Dublin. Brought to Ireland by missionary family in 1930s. Stored dry.

WHY THIS SET IS SPECIAL:
- Complete Family Set - Grandparents + Grandchildren - very collectable, harder to find than single dolls.
- 10 inch size is the most desirable (not the small 6 inch tourist version).
- Family sets like this sold at Morphy Auctions USA for $651 (grandparents), $747 (2 males), and Halls UK set of 5 (poor condition, one foot missing) for £180. Single dolls on eBay USA $399.
- Perfect for: Asian art collector, doll collector, missionary history, museum display.


DELIVERY:
Collection Dublin 11 or drogheda