CHINESE MEDICAL DOLL

Vintage celluloid/French ivory doctor's medical doll, length 15.2cm (6in); Note: Visits to physicians by women from the Ming Dynasty to the early 20th century were restricted by contact between genders, as physicians were usually men; visits by women to doctors were often conducted with a screen made of bamboo between the patient and doctor, and the woman would reach her hands out from behind the screen and point to the doll where her affliction was; these dolls were typically owned by the physicians themselves, and upper-class clientele would sometimes have their own customized dolls