|
BISQUE DOLLS
The most important valuable part of an antique bisque or wax doll is the head. They are made from unglazed, tinted porcelain, are among the most elaborate and valuable of all collector's dolls. The first were produced by German makers in the 1850s, but it wasn’t too long before the French dominated the industry. The finest French bisque dolls were made by leading makers such as Jumeau, Bru, Gaultier, and Steiner. The earliest French bisque dolls resembled fashionable young ladies and came equipped with wardrobes of elaborate clothes, based on fashion modeled of the day and are called fashion dolls. In the 19th century, Jumeau began making dolls with childlike features, grand eyes and chunky bodies known as bebes - they were enormously popular, and although German manufacturers produced their own child dolls they could never quite match the quality and essence of the French bebe. In the 20th Century German manufacturers introduced their realistic "character" dolls, which had smiling, laughing, crying and even frowns on their faces. The price of bisque dolls range from thousands of dollars to a few hundred depending on the maker, condition and quality, of the dolls. Details such as rarity of the mold number (the number you'll find on the back of the head which showed which mold was used) as well as the type of mouth designed (closed is best), and the dolls eyes and body. DOLL TYPES - GENERAL CARE
|
