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This corn dolly is in the form of a figure, and represents Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. A bound sheaf of corn forms the body and a bunch of corn ears forms the head which is adorned with straw plaits tied with red ribbon. The figure is holding two pots in its arms.

1 corn dollies: straw; good condition but fragile

MERL miscellaneous note Greta Bertram, 20 August 2013 – The 'Coker Collection' of corn dollies was bequeathed to the Museum by Alec Coker, who devoted his retirement from 1965 until his death in 1986 to spreading knowledge of and teaching the craft of corn dolly making. He first became interested in the craft when working at the BBC when he encountered dollies as props on the set of ‘Lorna Doone’ in the 1930s. ‘Corn’ is a term for the family of grains which includes barley, oats, wheat and rye. ‘Corn dolly’ is a wide-ranging term which includes figures, love tokens, crosses, Scandinavian star designs, and Far Eastern shrine dolls made from ‘corn’ straw. Techniques used in the craft include tying, plaiting, weaving and marquetry. The corn dolly was originally an object used in rites and rituals, and in many parts of the world it was believed that the ‘Corn Goddess’ lived in the crop and died when it was harvested. Images of the Goddess, or other talismans, were woven from the last sheaf to be reaped and carefully preserved to ensure an abundant crop the following year. By the twentieth century, corn dollies had lost their ritual associations, and from the 1950s there was a concerted effort to preserve the craft of corn dolly making., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Description: This dolly represents the figure of Ceres. // Sheaf of corn bound to form the figure of Ceres. Bunch of corn ears form the head, with straw plaits tied with red ribbon. Corn crossed at front to form arms, holding 2 corn pots. // Dimensions: Length: 116.0cm Diameter (base) 20.0cm // Associated information: No other information. // References: …’

Plant fibre, straw, Fibre