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$52,000
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Description
12" (30 cm.) Pressed bisque swivel head on kid-edged bisque shoulderplate, pale crystal blue enamel eyes with spiral threading, dark eyeliner, painted lashes, delicately feathered brows, mauve blushed eye shadow, accented nostrils and eye corners, closed mouth with heart-shaped upper lip, accent lines on lips, pierced ears, blonde mohair wig over cork pate, French kid bebe body with gusset-jointed hips, knees and elbows, bisque lower arms and hands, defined knuckles and nails. Condition: generally excellent. Marks: 3 (head) # A.T. (shoulderplate). Comments: Thuillier, circa 1884. From the family estate collection of Mildred Seeley. The bebe originally belonged to the young daughter, Elizabeth Bonduel Lillie Tabor ("Lily"), of Denver silver mine magnate Horace Tabor and his wife Baby Doe, whom he married in 1883 after a scandalous divorce from his first wife Augusta. The Tabors lived luxuriously; it is said that Baby Doe's wedding present was a $90,000 diamond necklace, and when attending the opera their box was decorated with white lilies. Baby Lily's christening gown was fashioned with diamond and gold pins and she wore a tiny jeweled necklace, costing over $15,000. Lily's later years were spent with her family, the McCourt's, and it was from this family home that the A.T. bebe of Lily Tabor was eventually acquired by Mildred Seeley. Value Points: exceptional beauty of the petite bebe with entrancing expression, splendid eyes, lovely bisque, original sturdy body, perfect bisque hands, fine antique costume, provenance.