Toys and Expression of Ethnic Identity in Soviet Lithuania. Ethnographic Dolls and Figurines

Abstract

The article is based on the assumption that ethnographic dolls were a constituent part of the social movement for preservation of the ethnic culture and national identity during the Soviet times. The object of the research is two arrangements of ethnographic dolls titled Wedding in Kupiškis and Mardi Gras Masks. The dolls and their arrangements were created by folk artists Ona Bakanauskienė and Jadvyga Šemetienė in the 1960s–1970s. The goal of the analysis of the ethnographic doll arrangements is to reveal their origins and sources of creation, methods of depiction and their significance for preservation and revival of ethnic culture and national self-awareness.

Keywords

• ethnic identity
• ethnographic dolls
• exhibition
• Mardi Gras masks
• Soviet Lithuania
• wedding in Kupiškis