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Charlbury Crown,

Anita (Jo) Dunn (Designer), Alec Coker (Maker)

This corn dolly, called the ‘Charlbury Crown’, was designed by Anita (Jo) Dunn and made by Alec Coker. It consists of spirally woven central core with corn ears at the top and bottom, and a spirally woven circle surrounding the middle of the core. Five plaited bands are attached to the top of the core at one end and the circle at the other. Five plaited loops are attached to the top of the dolly for decoration.

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: Charlbury Crown // Spirally woven central core with corn ears at its top and bottom. Five plaited bands attached at the top of the core and to the spirally woven circle surrounding the middle of the core. Five plaited loops as decoration at the top of the structure. // Dimensions: 38cm x 18cm // Associated information: Made by Alec Coker, devised by Anita Dunn. // References: L. Sandford. Strawwork and Corn Dollies p.76–77 // A. Coker’s Collection List of Corn Dollies no.121’