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This corn dolly was bought by the donor from a roadside vendor in Morocco. It consists of a flat section (possibly plaited) with wheat ears hanging from one end. It has been suggested that it is similar to the 'corn maiden', a traditional corn dolly from Montenegro.

1 straw plait; straw & bamboo

Existing note in Adlib – 'Very similiar to corn maiden from Montenegro (Southern Europe)', Letter, Susan Fairlie to MERL, 18 January 1972 – ‘The enclosed was bought from a roadside boy-vendor for 1 dirham (about 13p) in August 1971 in Morocco on the road between // Many hundreds of these were being sold in this particular area but we saw no sign of them in other parts of the country or in shops etc. We do not know if they are a traditional local version of harvest dollies or if they were just dreamed up for the tourists but in any case we thought you might find it worth keep and/or displaying.’

Morocco

1971 - 1971

Plant fibre, straw, Wood, bamboo