Lot 3
Lot 3
The top lot of the auction was the catalog cover lot, a petite kid-bodied bebe marked A.T. by French doll maker Thuillier, which soared to $53,000.
Lot 155
No more than around 200 poupees were made each year (1857â1865) by Adelaid Huret. This rare example with wooden body and original costume sold for $20,000.
Lot 123
The wide-eyed googlie doll, model 131, by Kammer and Reinhardt reached $8,400 and the little 5-inch dollâs googlie doll, marked 189, brought $950.
Lot 183
Bearing its original paper label âShyunsaiâ and preserved in its original wooden packing box, the Japanese doll of the 1930s era sold for $6,250.
Cuts sent down for scanning 7-11
Cut out 2nd to last graph re july 27 auction if doesnât run by then
ANTIQUE DOLLS PERFORM SOLIDLY AT THERIAULTâS AUCTION, 4 CUTS
AVV 7-14 #745531
Chicago, Ill. â Theriaultâs May 31 antique doll auction here was titled âA Fine Pretending Tea,â a phrase from a poem about dollsâ tea parties. This auction was no pretender, and offered an abundant selection of fine dolls, evidenced by the soaring prices.
Buyers flocked to the auction and bid in person or via absentee bids, phone or live online throughout the day.
Theriaultâs live online bidding offers an actual video/audio feed from the auction and as one collector who stayed home, fixed to her computer screen, said later, âThis was so much fun. I wanted to go to that auction so badly but just couldnât get away. I watched the entire auction, won my doll, and I will have the memory of âalmostâ being there.â
Prices for French dolls continued very strong. The cover doll, a 13-inch bebe by Thuillier, soared to $52,000. An early portrait bebe by Jumeau doubled its presale estimate at $18,000, while a 26-inch Triste bebe topped at $19,500.
Two Bru bebes, each 20 inches, reached $34,000 and $25,000, respectively. Leading a fine small collection of French poupees was a wooden-bodied fashion lady by Adelaide Huret that reached $20,000.
German bisque dolls were very popular. From the early period were a fine group of bisque ladies with sculpted hair whose prices ranged from $1,000 to $2,700. Dolls by Simon and Halbig included a rare smiling 1019 model at $5,200 and a petite 12-inch 908 model at $2,700. Kammer and Reinhardt offered examples from its art character series that resonated with bidders, including a 22-inch model 114 Hans that topped at $5,800, a 20-inch model 101 Marie that sold at $4,800, and a 15-inch model 131 googlie that rushed to $8,400.
Dolls by Kestner continued their popularity trend. Two petite all-bisque models with swivel head sold for $4,100 and $4,000. A 12-inch brown-complexioned doll known as the âA.T. Kestnerâ went for $6,200, and another black doll, Kestnerâs 143 model, at only 11 inches, reached $1,900. A collection of character dolls by Gebruder Heubach included model 7843, which collectors variously described as yawning or crying, that sold at $4,200.
The auction featured a fine group of dolls from the archives of the Cleveland Museum of Art, being sold to benefit its education fund. These included rare early Nineteenth Century dolls of Japan, including a rare large Mitsuore or âtriple-jointedâ doll that sold at $8,000, and an early 27-inch Palace that went for $10,000. Other dolls from the museum holdings included a folk art lady and gentleman that sold for $1,800 and a pair of Schoenhut dolls, models 30 and 312, that topped at $1,700 each.
Based in Annapolis, Md., Theriaultâs next catalog doll auction is July 27 at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, N.V.
For information, 800-638-0422 or www.theriaults.com.