Onsite
Highest Bidder
$36,000
Sold
sold
Click image to enlarge
- Estimate
- $30,000 / $40,000
Gold Horse ListingDescription
25" (64 cm.) Bisque socket head, oval-shaped face with very full lower cheeks and throat, large brown glass paperweight eyes in manner known as "wrap-around", thick dark eyeliner, mauve eye shadow, painted lashes, delicately-feathered brows, accented eye corners, shaded nostrils, closed mouth with defined space between the outlined shaded lips, pierced ears, blonde lambswool wig over cork pate, French plump composition and wooden eight-loose-ball-jointed body with straight wrists, antique navy blue twill costume, undergarments, socks, leather shoes impressed with full figure of doll, jewelry. Condition: generally excellent, original body and body finish. Marks: Jumeau Medaille d'Or Paris (body). Comments: Emile Jumeau, circa 1878, early period portrait bebe. Value Points: outstanding early bebe with finest delicate bisque enhanced by dramatic eyes, most expressive demeanor. The doll is featured in the book, The Rose Unfolds, by Rosalie Whyel and Susan Hedrick, pages 110/111.
Stuart's Take
Of all the classic Bebe models, this will always be one of my favorites. I call it the "Wrap Around Eye Portrait", for which Florence is not entirely happy about. But it has gained that term through collecting circles so as to specify the uniqueness of the look from other Portrait Jumeau models. I get that it's not totally appropriate as a term, but I see the value in differentiation. Regardless, the model rarely ever comes to auction, are dramatic and serene always, and this one, in her beautiful antique costume, is a true gem. Her gracing the cover of the Rosalie catalog is testament to her photogenic and striking look.