Rare Signed French Wax Poupee by Leontine Rohmer with Original Signed Body

Live Auction

20" (52 cm.) Poured wax shoulder head, cobalt blue glass enamel inset eyes, painted lashes and brows, accented nostrils, closed mouth with accent line between the lips, blonde fleece-curled wig, original kid body with horsehair filling, kid-over-wooden upper arms, bisque hands and arms to above the elbows, pull-string "mama" crier in torso, wood-ball articulated knees, bisque lower legs and feet. Condition: generally excellent. Marks: (Rohmer stamp on torso). Comments: Leontine Rohmer, one of the earliest dolls from her small studio firm; in her 1858 depose she noted that her dolls could have heads of various materials, and it is clear from her various depose registrations that her concern was with the design of the doll body and its various possible articulations. Value Points: extremely rare variation of the sought-after Rohmer poupee, the poured wax head having classic French cobalt eyes, and the signed body with superbly modeled bisque hands and feet, wearing lovely early silk costume.