$66,000
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sold
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Description
28" (71 cm.) Bisque socket head,bright blue glass
sleep eyes that operate from wire lever at the
back of the head,dark eyeliner,dark curly
lashes,rose-blushed eye shadow,brush-stroked brows
with feathering detail,accented eye corners and
nostrils,rounded-tip nose,closed mouth with shaded
and outlined lips,row of painted teeth,pierced
ears,impressed dimples at philtrum,lip corners and
cheeks,hip-length brunette mohair wig over Steiner
pate,Steiner composition fully-jointed body.
Condition: generally excellent. Marks: Sie F 6
(incised on head) Steiner B SGDG Paris 6 (ink
script on head) (cadeceus stamp on body).
Comments: Jules Steiner,1880,this attributed date
is based upon the original early body stamp,the
style of the original costume,and,most
importantly,the 1880 paperweight-eye version of
the lever sleeping eye mechanism which was used
for this one year only. Then,from 1881 onward,the
lever system used the flat Steiner porcelain eye.
Although the paperweight eyes were more beautiful
than flat Steiner eyes,a statement in The Dolls of
Jules Steiner by McGonagle explains why they were
not continued: "...this use of the paperweight eye
would have [necessitated] deep spacing from the
socket in order to allow the eye to move,a factor
which surely contributed to the development of the
[Steiner] eye globe". So rare is the series F
model that precise dating has not been known,but
the discovery of this superb all-original model
confirms the 1880 dating. Value Points: few
models of the Series F are known to exist,and
virtually none in this exceptional size,with
choicest bisque and fabulous modeling of dimpled
childlike expression,superb painting including
painted teeth,elongated exceptional wig with
Steiner pate,original body and body finish,and
beautiful original blue velvet dress with matching
bonnet,undergarments,stockings,leather shoes