French Circle Dot Bru Doll, ca. 1880
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GUEST:
I don't know too much about her, but my mom did make and collect porcelain dolls. And this is one of many that she has of the, I guess, the real antique porcelain dolls that she had. She would actually teach doll making. My dad would pour the molds. We had a kiln in the backyard and eyeballs in all kinds of drawers and all the body parts laying all over the place. It wasn't really something I was into, you know, being a boy.
APPRAISER:
A little bit like Frankenstein's studio?
GUEST:
Yeah, it was pretty wild-looking, sometimes, so... The only thing I can remember was a Bru or something. I don't even know if this is a Bru, I have no idea, so...
APPRAISER:
This doll was made by Leon Casimir Bru in 1880.
GUEST:
Ooh, that's pretty old.
APPRAISER:
So she's definitely antique, and she was made in France.
GUEST:
Okay, it's a French doll, then.
APPRAISER:
And we call her a circle-dot Bru. If we look at the back of her, we'll see there is a little circle on the back of her neck. And he made the finest dolls, and he was very proud of his dolls. And they were award-winning dolls at the exposition. And what's really wonderful about your doll is, she has glass paperweight eyes. If you look at them, they curve out in the front, they bulge.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So it's a more realistic, human feature. She has beautifully painted eyelashes and mauve eyeshadow. And she has this sweet little mouth that's just barely open, with a little light space between. Very labor-intensive doll to make. Beautifully done, with plump, rosy cheeks. She's made of bisque, and she has a beautiful bisque shoulder plate. The socket head goes into the bisque shoulder plate. And then the shoulder plate is on top of a kid body. She's got bisque hands. And your doll has her original mohair wig, which is often gone. And that's an animal fiber. And then she has been beautifully re-dressed. Very period, but was not original to her. And then she has on antique shoes, but they're not the original shoes.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
On today's market, she would retail for around $12,000 to $14,000.
GUEST:
Wow, that's a little bit more than I thought she was worth. So, yeah, that's nice to know. That's pretty neat. (chuckles) So, wow, I didn't think they were worth that much, but that's good.
Appraisal Details
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