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German All-Bisque "French Wrestler," ca. 1885

Value (2010) | $4,000 Auction – $5,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
My mother handed it down to me probably 30 years ago, and it was her great-grandmother's. And the story I've been told is it's from France and was made in 1880. My mother had played with it when she was little, and the story says that they called her "the cowgirl." It was supposedly a Western rendition of this doll from France, is all I was told, so...

APPRAISER:
If you notice, her boots are very unusual.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
If you look at the overall doll, it's the peak of German doll making. You thought it was possibly French.

GUEST:
Oh, it was Germany.

APPRAISER:
It's called a French Wrestler, but it's actually made in Germany...

GUEST:
Cool.

APPRAISER:
...for the French market. This doll was made between 1880 and 1910. From head to toe the quality is superb-- the contrast between the flushness on the cheeks, the whiteness of the bisque. Unfortunately, it's a little bit dirty. It's got a few chips on the side. Wonderful paperweight glass eyes. Wonderful feathered eyebrows. This is not strung, so the head comes off, and I can show the marking fairly easy. If you notice, that is marked 102, which is just a mold number for this doll, not with a maker or anything. They made it in several different sizes. This is a very unusually large size for this doll.

GUEST:
Is it?

APPRAISER:
Yep. And I would guess you would wonder why it was called the French Wrestler. Because of the body. It sort of looks like a wrestler, you know? (laughing) If you look at it, it's sort of robust, the legs are very big.

GUEST:
Chubby.

APPRAISER:
And that's what makes it more desirable to collectors today. The hair is all original. It's a human hair wig. It's sort of tattered, but it is the original wig. It needs restringing. If you would have a professional restring it, it should cost you anywhere between $20 and $35 to have it restrung.

GUEST:
That's all?

APPRAISER:
In today's market, even with the chips, because of the size and the quality, at auction this would probably bring between $4,000 and $5,000.

GUEST:
Awesome. Cool.

APPRAISER:
Very nice example of this doll.

GUEST:
Cool, cool.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Floyd Jones
Dolls
Appraised value (2010)
$4,000 Auction – $5,000 Auction
Featured In
Billings, Hour 1 (#1510)
Event
Billings, MT (June 26, 2010)
Category
Dolls
Period
19th Century
Form
Doll
Material
Bisque , Glass , Hair

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

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