French Bru Jeune Doll, ca. 1875
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GUEST:
My husband's grandmother used to collect dolls, and she had two huge display cases full of dolls. And when she passed away, they were passed on to her only daughter, who was my husband's mother. And my husband and his brother and his sister divided the dolls.
APPRAISER:
It's very unusual. It's a French doll, made by Bru. When you look at dolls, especially French dolls, Bru was considered the ultimate maker of dolls. You can look at the quality of it. Wonderful coloring on the bisque. The bisque was pressed into the mold to make it. Perfect head, on a shoulder plate. The head swivels, closed mouth, very nice blue paperweight eyes. Blue paperweight eyes are more sought after than brown eyes. Bisque arms... dress not original, but still the head is absolutely wonderful. Any doll collector, Bru would be the ultimate doll that they want. It's marked on the back and probably marked on the shoulder plate also. On the back of the head, if you look here you'll see Bru Jeune, and size number 10. The doll is about 24 inches, it has its original mohair wig. Unfortunately, parts of the body have been replaced. It's been replaced with a German leather body. Normally it would have wooden legs. The arms would be hinged with wood, and the bottom part of the arm would be bisque. The bottom part is correct, but it's all been put back together.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
She has pierced ears-- you can see the earrings. They've probably been added at some point in time.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Also, she has a necklace. That's probably been added. Have you any idea what the value could be?
GUEST:
I... I think after my husband's mom died, they had it appraised, but I know that it was expensive but I don't know what the price was. And then I heard after that that the price of dolls has just plummeted. So, I really don't have any idea.
APPRAISER:
Even though the prices of dolls have plummeted in certain dolls, but not this doll. Even in this condition, probably, at auction, it could go anywhere between $12,000 and $16,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Wow, that's great.
APPRAISER:
If it was in perfect condition, the value would be between $30,000 and $35,000 at an auction.
Appraisal Details
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