Kestner Black Closed-mouth Bisque Doll, ca. 1880
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GUEST:
My husband found her for me at an antique flea market early in the morning. He saw a lady looking at it, then kind of hung back, and the woman gave the doll back to the seller, and he ran over and asked her how much, and she said, "$50." So he bought her for me. I don't know anything really about her, you know.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
I don't know if she's German or French. I know she's probably not American.
APPRAISER:
Okay, very good. She is German.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And in fact, if you look underneath her wig, you can-- which is original, by the way.
GUEST:
Oh, good, okay.
APPRAISER:
Which is a wonderful thing, to have an original wig with this doll.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
You can see the plaster that is on the pate.
GUEST:
Yes, uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And so that tells us that she would be a Kestner.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And then she would have been a doll that would have been done in about the 1880s.
GUEST:
Wow, okay.
APPRAISER:
And there aren't, as you noted, a lot of marks on her.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
She only has, underneath the wig, the number eight. That's the size. She would be called a Kestner closed-mouth black doll.
GUEST:
Okay, okay.
APPRAISER:
And she is remarkable in that her condition, she still has her original wig. She does not have her original dress.
GUEST:
No, uh-uh.
APPRAISER:
She has all original finish on her body.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And a little hard to see, but if you-- pardon me-- pull her pantaloons down, you can see her finish is in excellent condition.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
And she has ball joints.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And that's an earlier body.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Of those with the 1880s. And it, obviously, would go with her anyway, because the paint, the color is identical, face and body.
GUEST:
Okay. That's good to know, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Tell me about those shoes.
GUEST:
Oh, they're new.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
Yeah, no, I know they're not, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Okay, do you think you can find an old pair for her?
GUEST:
I probably can, yes, uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Okay, it would really make a difference.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
It would be excellent if you could find an old pair of shoes for her.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Those are pretty distracting.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
I would tend to leave her barefoot.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Rather than putting the shoe on her.
GUEST:
Okay, good.
APPRAISER:
This is a very charming doll. They are rarely found as a black doll.
GUEST:
Okay, uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
If she were a Caucasian, she would be around $1,200 to $1,500.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But because she is a black doll in this kind of condition...
APPRAISER:
I would say that at a retail doll show, she would be around $3,500.
GUEST:
Really? Wow.
APPRAISER:
So worth quite a bit more.
GUEST:
That $50 investment was good.
APPRAISER:
Absolutely. And if I were you, I would recommend that you take your husband and let him go to more flea markets.
GUEST (chuckling): Okay.
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