Rare French Gutta Percha Poupee by Leon Casimir Bru with Smiling Expression

13 Watching

Live Auction

19" (48 cm.) Gutta percha swivel head on matching shoulder plate, blue glass enamel inset eyes with spiral threading, dark eyeliner, painted lashes, feathered brows, accented nostrils and eye corners, closed mouth with upturned lip corners in dainty smiling expression, greyish brown mohair wig, muslin firmly-stuffed poupee body with kid arms, nicely costumed. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Leon Casimir Bru, his smiling poupee offered in the 1873 L'Annuaire du Commerce described as having "tetes caoutchouc", literally heads of rubber, a variation of gutta percha; the luxury dolls firms such as Bru and Huret were intrigued by the possible use of these variant materials in doll-making, but efforts were evidently unpopular and short lived as few examples are found today. Value Points: rare doll of which few examples are known to exist.