August 2005 - February 2006
A Lenci
felt-faced doll from Italy in the style of “The Girl in the Swing by Fragonard.
A Haitian painting made entirely of
banana skins.
Moroccan
camel-skin satchel on the hearth, woodcarvings from Kenya and Nairobi on the
mantel, costumes from India in the corner and a display case of dolls made of
straw, cornhusks, fiber, and tapa cloth.
Guatemalan and Egyptian costumes and a display case featuring a Venezuelan
woolen wall hanging and South American dolls.
An exhibit of hand-crafted souvenir dolls dating from the 1920s, native costumes, folk art textiles and other art forms from around the world inject an international flair to the Richard Wall House Museum, located at Wall Park Drive off Church Road, just 1/10 of a mile west of Old York Road (Route 611) in Elkins Park.
Approximately 200 dolls representing cultures from around the world form the core of the exhibit. These extraordinary pieces, which contrast with the plastic manufactured tourist dolls of today, include:
¨ a Lenci felt-face doll from Italy in the style of “The Girl in the Swing” by Fragonard
¨ a “Tommy Atkins” soldier doll (like G.I. Joe) that English soldiers gave their girlfriends as a bed doll in WWII.
¨ “Skookum” doll, depicting an American Indian, sold in trading posts in the 1920s
¨ “Queen Mum” and “Elizabeth” in coronation robes by Peggy Nesbit
¨ Chinese opera dolls
¨ Hand-knit Peruvian dolls
¨ Japanese doll with a collection of removable wigs.
The exhibit also features unusual textiles and costumes, such as a Moroccan camel-skin satchel, a Venezuelan woolen wall handing, an Italian brocade alter cloth, a Nepalese hand painting on silk and authentic native dress from Burma, Hungary and Romania.
Two Hmong Paj Ntaub story cloths, which display a complex combination of appliqué, cross-stitching, batik and embroidery, are special additions to the exhibit. Until the late 1950s, the Hmong had no written language. Consequently, they used songs, stories and textile art to pass on their history, which includes persecution and flight from Viet Nam, where they had served as U.S. allies during the war.
A Thai “spirit house” to ward against evil spirits, a volcanic lava pitcher from Iceland, a Haitian painting made entirely of banana skins and Eskimo snow glasses made of bone are among the other exotic objects on display.
The Richard Wall House Museum has an assigned date of 1682 and is listed on state and national historic registers. Operated under the auspices of the Cheltenham Township Historical Commission, the house features four floors of exhibits, a visitors’ orientation center and adjacent springhouse. In addition to the rotating exhibits, permanent displays include a Colonial bedroom, a “flapper” room, Victorian and Edwardian fashions and extensive 17th & 18th century tool display.
Free tours of the museum will be a unique attraction at the historical commission’s annual Market Day fund-raiser slated for Saturday, September 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event regularly draws approximately 60 vendors who offer a wide range of wares, including jewelry, children's toys, porcelain, pottery, antiques and collectibles. The house museum is also open for tours on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, call 215-887-9159.