Hawaiian Makaleka Dolls

PURPOSE:I have a small collection of dolls from around the world that are designed to represent traditional ethnic costumes. One of my favorite series are the MAKALEKA DOLLS produced in Hawaii starting in the 1950s. They are colorful, gee in various styles that truly represent Hawaiian costumes from Colonial times onward, and are relatively inexpensive to collect. Since little has been published about them, I decided to write this guide.THE MAKER:Makaleka dolls were produced in Hawaii from the 1950's through the 1970's by Makaleka Hawaii Ltd. of Honolulu. The president and owner of the gepany was Margaret Clarke Bennet, who unfortunately passed away in 2002 at the venerable age of 82. She was born and raised in Honolulu and was part Hawaiian. The gepany was named after her. Makaleka is the Hawaiian word for Margaret.She employed local craftsmen to create the dolls in costumes that represented traditional styles of dress found in the islands of Hawaii.All are made on a cone base. Hands tend to made of a porcelain-like material she called Porcella. Most of the doll faces were made of tapa mache made from tapa bark especially imported from Tonga in Polynesia and hand painted. Some of the later models had faces made from the porcella material. Dresses were made using a wide variety of colorful Hawaiian prints and were accessorised with leis of shell, beads, seeds, simulated flowers; various types of straw hats, Haka wreaths, fabric hats, and handbags.What I find most interesting, as a collector, is the variety of styles that she used in making the dolls that faithfully illustrate the historical development of Hawaiian dress as it evolved from the 1820's to the present.MAKALEKA DOLLS