Name: Isaiah and Ruth, Leo-Moss-Inspired Dolls
Made by and When: Gloria Y. Rone, 2025
Material: Clay, cloth, paint, stuffing, cotton textiles
Isaiah
Marks: (Head) GYR; (Two wrist tags) One wrist tag bears the doll’s name, Isaiah. A larger tag bears the scripture, Isaiah 12:2 on the front and extends to the back along with the artist’s signature. (Back) A brown paper label attached to the doll’s back reads: “Isaiah” Leo Moss / inspired / doll by Artist / Gloria Y. Rone / 2025 Gloria Y. / Rone
Height: 12 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Clay-sculpted head, hair, and face with frowning eyebrows, inset big brown eyes outlined with black paint, and a closed mouth.
Clothes: Wears a white long-sleeved shirt and tan and brown checked suspender pants with black lace-up shoes.
Ruth
Marks: (Two wrist tags) One tag bears the doll’s name, Ruth. The larger tag has an affirming statement about unwavering loyalty, kindness, and commitment to family. (Back) Attached to the doll’s back is a brown paper label that reads: “Ruth” / Leo Moss / inspired doll by / Gloria Young / Rone. G.Y.R. / 2025 / Gloria Young Rone.
Height: 12 inches
Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Clay-sculpted hair and face with frowning eyebrows. The hair is sculpted in two French braids and accented with an oversized pink bow. Ruth has inset big brown eyes outlined with black paint and a closed mouth with down-turned coral lips.
Clothes: Dressed in a pink and white gingham antique-lace-trimmed blouse, a matching skirt, white pantaloons, and off-white lace-up shoes
Other: From the late 1800s through the 1930s, Leo Moss, a Black man and native of Macon, GA, was a handyman by trade who sculpted new heads and faces over existing manufactured dolls and/or combined doll parts to create ethnically correct black dolls for his children, family, friends, and on commission. Contemporary doll artists, intrigued by Moss’s ingenuity, fashion dolls in the Leo Moss style. These one-of-a-kind dolls were inspired by Moss’s work.
Gallery
Isaiah and Ruth
Isaiah
Ruth
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