Bosnian and Herzegovinian dolls

This is a set of 2 dolls 8 inches high wearing traditional clothes from the Mostar region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are one of the five boxed sets of dolls in near mint condition I acquired some time ago and have featured on this blog:Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro.

The traditional costumes from those regions around the Dinaric Alps are often quite similar and so dolls from Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro can be hard to differentiate. The male doll, for example, shares design features with male dolls from Montenegro and Croatia but the tassels on the hat and the style of shoes indicate he is Bosnian. So in terms of the Narodna Radinost range these dolls are designated as Bosnian.

Vladimir Kirin postcard 

The female doll wears a costume depicted by Croatian artist Vladimir Kirin in the postcard reproduced above. She wears the long white woollen vest common to the region and a wonderful woven apron with red fringe. Her hat in particular is well made with the beading and colourful flower. The male doll is perhaps a little less interesting although still well made. He has a red silk ribbon sash at his waist, leather opanki on his feet and four delicate yellow buttons on his shirt front. There has also been some attempt, as with the other male dolls in these double box sets, to create some extra detail with his hair with what may be sideburns.