As I posted on Facebook a few days ago, most people want to see cathedrals, bridges, towers, beaches, monuments—disco dance until dawn—when on vacation. Me, if I only experienced one thing on this trip, I found it in the Hospital de Bonecas in old town Lisboa. (For those of you who are disturbed by doll imagery, you may want to pass on this post)
Walking in we were a bit deflated at first as it was pretty tiny with room for two, maybe three customers, and mostly displaying doll clothing and accessories for sale. There were several dolls displayed on the walls but we both thought “is this it?”
But shortly after chatting with the woman behind the counter, Elizabeth Pena, she asked if we wanted to see the “surgery” and museum. Then our excitement meter rose several notches. Sim por favor!
A bit of history: Founded in 1830, and passed down through five generations of familia Cutileiro, it’s the world’s oldest surviving doll hospital (and museum). Manuela Cutileiro, who is the fourth generation and a former school teacher who inherited the hospital from her mother and grandmother, hopes her daughters and granddaughters will take over when their time comes. She says, “In fact, my granddaughter comes here on days when she has no school. She stitches dresses for dolls already!”
The original owner, Miss Carlota, fixed up simple cloth and clay dolls for local children outside her herb shop and she would act like a doll doctor, and patch them up. The hospital now repairs everything from priceless porcelain heirlooms to worn teddy bears and plastic Barbies. Elizabeth, who gave us the personal tour (just me and Connie!), said the wait time for repair has been known to run up to five-six months. People send in their heirlooms from across the globe. But down through the decades, any doll that was not claimed was added to their now extensive “museum.” There are racks of separated doll parts—heads and arms, cases of eyes, half-finished “patients”—along with hundreds of complete dolls.
The doll brought in while we were there, pictured above on the counter, was on the surgery table within minutes and out the door before we left the museum.
And now, the collection…to be continued in Part 2 tomorrow or the next day.
Sweet dreams!
Hospital de Bonecas
I got a chuckle out of this one. If there was ever a museum made for Gary Mackender ...
Wonderful place!