In the first half of the 20th century, the Mojave Indians made many dolls for Euro-American tourists passing through Needles, California on the train. The dolls are made of unfired clay, and as a result are very fragile. These female figurines are dressed in cloth skirts and wear necklaces of beads, horse-hair covers their head, and their bodies are painted with red, yellow and black pigment in traditional Mojave Indian patterns.

While we do not know when it was that the Mojave first began creating clay human figures, the earliest documented example was collected on the Whipple expedition (1854). After 1883, when the railroad route was established through Needles, the Mojave Indians were making the clay dolls for sale to Euro-American tourists. The depot at Needles, “El Graces” had a lunch counter, cafeteria, and marketplace.The Mojaves sold souvenir ceramics on the platform and in the store.

The dolls, made in both female and male figures, are not likely caricatures of specific individuals. Instead, the makers of the dolls emphasized culturally significant body parts. Generally, the dolls have enlarged heads and eyes, with simple bodies, arms and legs. Large eyes were considered beautiful by the Mojave people, and the women often outlined their eyes to make them look bigger and to emphasize their eyelashes. Both male and female dolls have large, outlined eyes, often with large pupils. The faces and bodies of the dolls were painted with pigment in designs appropriate for each gender. For the Mojave Indians, face and body paint was a sign of wealth, and a rich Mojave could afford to paint elaborate lines and renew them often. Although the Mojaves did not consider large feet beautiful, occasionally the feet of the dolls were made large to support a standing form.