$23,000
Sold
sold
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Description
14" (36 cm.) Pressed bisque socket head with very plump cheeks and chin,unusual dark blue glass paperweight inset eyes with spiral threading,thick dark eyeliner,painted lashes,feathered brows,mauve-blushed eye shadow,accented nostrils and eye corners,closed mouth with shaded and outlined lips,pierced ears,original blonde lambswool wig over cork pate,all-wooden body with shapely torso,dowel-jointing at shoulders,elbows,wrists,hips,knees and ankles. Condition: generally excellent. Marks: 2/0 (head) N 0 C.25 (incised on torso). Comments: Leon Casimir Bru,circa 1879,Bebe Modele was first mentioned in Bru's 1879 advertising and appears to only have been made until 1883 at the latest and always in very limited exclusive numbers; this model with Brevete face is from the earliest 1879 period and was a continuation of his deposed wooden-bodied poupee or lady doll,also a luxury model. Value Points: the compelling beauty of the bebe,with rich eye color emphasized by beautiful lashes,eye liner and eye shadow,and delicately shaded blushing of cheeks,chin and ear lobes,is enhanced by the model's rarity,especially in this very rare smallest-known size,and with wonderful early silk costume,likely original,including original chemise,and original shoes signed "Bru Jne Paris".