Namchi Beaded Fertility Doll

A red head on a long neck of yellow beads, wrapped in a gray blue belt.

This beaded fertility doll is Namchi, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is cloth, wood and pigment. Beaded dolls of the Namchi, also called Dowayo, are generally carried and cared for by girls and women, and are often associated with fertility and the hope for children. A rough wooden head painted red carries tiny white eyes, atop a long neck wrapped in yellow glass beads. A wide band of pale blue beads circles the middle, and strands of yellow beads hang below. Two small blue beaded arms stick out at the sides. A black base holds it. It is 3.5 inches wide and deep and 9.5 high.

Dressed in beads, and carrying itself well.