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Chandelier,

Corn dolly of the ‘chandelier’ type. Below the bands are five plaited loops with corn ear ends, and at the bottom of the neck hangs a lantern.
This is a corn dolly of the ‘chandelier’ type. It consists of a long, spirally woven central core or ‘neck’ to which four plaited loops are attached. Below the loops are five plaited bands with a bunch of corn ears at each end, suspended within a spirally woven circle. Below the bands are five plaited loops with corn ear ends, and at the bottom of the neck hangs a lantern.

1 dolly: straw

MERL miscellaneous note Greta Bertram, 20 August 2013 – The 'Coker Collection' of corn dollies was bequeathed to the Museum by Alec Coker, who devoted his retirement from 1965 until his death in 1986 to spreading knowledge of and teaching the craft of corn dolly making. He first became interested in the craft when working at the BBC when he encountered dollies as props on the set of ‘Lorna Doone’ in the 1930s. ‘Corn’ is a term for the family of grains which includes barley, oats, wheat and rye. ‘Corn dolly’ is a wide-ranging term which includes figures, love tokens, crosses, Scandinavian star designs, and Far Eastern shrine dolls made from ‘corn’ straw. Techniques used in the craft include tying, plaiting, weaving and marquetry. The corn dolly was originally an object used in rites and rituals, and in many parts of the world it was believed that the ‘Corn Goddess’ lived in the crop and died when it was harvested. Images of the Goddess, or other talismans, were woven from the last sheaf to be reaped and carefully preserved to ensure an abundant crop the following year. By the twentieth century, corn dollies had lost their ritual associations, and from the 1950s there was a concerted effort to preserve the craft of corn dolly making., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Description: Thame Chandelier // Central core is a long, sprially woven ‘neck’. Attached to this are four plaited loops. Below these, there are five plaited bands with a bunch of corn ears at each end. These are suspended within a spirally woven circle. Below these, there are five plaited loops with corn ear ends. At the bottom of the neck hangs a lantern. // Dimensions: 85cm x 21cm // Associated information: … // References: A. Coker’s Collection List of Corn Dollies no.107’