Wooden Doll, «Sennentuntschi»
Calanca/Masciadon, undated
Our object has repeatedly been referred to as the «only Sennentuntschi that really exists». The mysterious figure found its way into the collection thanks to the ethnologist Peter Egloff, who had come across it during a hiking trip in the Val Calanca.
The history of this doll is unknown. For this very reason, it offers a canvas for our own projections and fantasies. Its peculiar appearance is reminiscent of the folk tale motif of «Sennentuntschi», which is widespread in the Alps. The tale is about a bunch of lonely «Älpler» [Alpine herdsmen who also process milk into dairy products] who make themselves a female doll and sexually abuse it. The doll comes to life and brutally takes revenge by killing the dairyman and stretching his skin out on the cottage’s roof.