Beautiful Antique Red Cross Nurse Doll's Dress, Perfectly Framed inuit stone carving Watercolor on both sides of

Watercolor on both sides of the umbrella

When I found this little parasol at a recent estate sale--small but quite heavy for its size--I added to my pile just because I liked it

10 5/8" tall x 5 3/8" wide x about 2" deep

but structurally in great shape

The wonderfully gestural surface decoration evinces a vertical sequence of blooms

Beautiful Antique Red Cross Nurse Doll's Dress, Perfectly Framed inuit stone carving Watercolor on both sides ofThis one moves me on all sorts of levels, including for the dress's transformation into a potent uniform via the single red cross hand stitched onto the white band on one sleeve, and for the staining and fading to the beautiful blue of the linen, making it feel as if if its wearer did plenty of caretaking. And then its careful laying out onto a quilted ground for framing, with the left sleeve folded under as if in perpetual motion. Early 1900s WWI era