French Bisque Poupee with Extensive Trousseau and Intriguing Provenance

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25" (64 cm.) Bisque swivel head on kid-edged bisque shoulderplate, delicate complexion with softly blushed cheeks, brilliant cobalt blue glass inset eyes, dark eyeliner, painted lashes, lightly-feathered brows, accented nostrils, closed mouth with accented lips, unpierced ears, brunette human hair wig over cork pate, French kid poupee body with gusset jointing at elbows, hips and knees. Condition: generally excellent, very sturdy original body. Comments: French, attributed to Barrois, circa 1868. Value Points: the doll is presented with wooden base containing a vast assortment of original costumes ranging from gowns to day dresses and, with an unusual inclusion of two nun habits, one a novitiate gown and the other the habit of the Carmelite nun. Also included are seven packets of folded clothing tied with pink ribbons and identified as "ma layette", "mes pantalon" and so forth, and a wooden box with additional shoes, woven slippers and other accessories. Included is a framed 1868 baptismal certificate for the young child Marie Cecile Moulin of Saint Priest, France, and a research paper suggesting that the doll and its trousseau was a baptismal gift for Marie Cecile who was likely the niece of one of the Carmelite sisters. The paper notes that Marie Antoinette had a doll dressed in the Carmelite habit for her daughter so that the child would not be frightened when she visited her aunt, the queen's sister, who was a Carmelite Nun.