#177

French Bisque Bebe Modele with Articulated Wooden Body by Leon Casimir Bru
12 Watching
Live Auction

Onsite
$24,000
sold
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Estimate
$20,000 / $30,000
Description
21" (53 cm.) Bisque socket head with very full cheeks, brown glass paperweight inset eyes, thick dark eyeliner, painted lashes, mauve blushed eyeshadow, brushstroked and feathered brows, accented eye corners, shaded nostrils, closed mouth with defined space between the outlined lips, pierced ears, blonde mohair wig over cork pate, all-wooden body with shapely torso, dowel-jointing at shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles, uniquely carved fingers and defined toes, (frail) burgundy silk costume, undergarments, bonnet with milliner's label of Frederick & Nelson, burgundy socks, leather shoes (one sole missing, the other with "B" script impression). Condition: generally excellent, some typical body scuffing. Marks: 4 (head) (impressed marking on back torso). Comments: Leon Casimir Bru, first period of his Bebe Modele with deposed fully articulated body, circa 1878. Value Points: rare model in large size with most artistic detail of body sculpting and articulation. The bebe is featured in the book, The Rose Unfolds, by Rosalie Whyel and Susan Hedrick, pages 122/123.