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Kestners Lead Auction of Joanna Ott Doll Collection
Bolton, MA - Dolls from the estate collection of Joanna Ott auctioned at
Skinner on May 12 generated interest from buyers across the United States, as
well as from England, Europe and Japan. The sale was a solid success, grossing
nearly $330,000 and selling 96% of the lots. The collection was exceptionally
strong in Kestner bisque dolls, including early closed mouth examples in sizes
from 10 to 25 inches, which brought prices as high as $9,775. The top Kestner,
the elusive A.T. Kestner expressively modeled after the French bébé
by A. Thullier, was also the top achieving doll of the sale. At 15 inches, it
had the classic early Kestner jointed composition body with cupped hands, delicate
coloring and the deeply cut mouth with its wide lower lip singular to this model.
Nearly 70 dolls from the Kestner firm were offered, and across the board these
dolls from the "King of Doll Makers" held solid prices, within or above their
estimate ranges. Two notable examples were the model #15, a 25-inch doll with
expressive modeling, and the Gibson Girl, each of which fetched a solid $5,750.
The Kestner Gibson Girl was modeled from the work of Charles Dana Gibson. An
idealized representation of the classic American woman of the progressive era,
the doll retains the stately elegance of Gibson’s work. This doll also retained
a rich provenance: it was originally bought for 13 year old Rosalind Bement
of Lansing Michigan, whose father had been mayor of Lansing, Michigan. The doll
was obviously treasured through the years, and was sold replete with the inventory
of her entire wardrobe that consisted of several dresses, shirtwaists, coat
and cape, undergarments, shoes and jewelry. Other German dolls that sold nicely
included a Kley and Hahn bisque-head character boy that went for $4,312.50,
large Heubach bisque-head character boy that reached $2,990, and a Heubach bisque
socket-head character girl "Coquette" that sold for $1,610. These strong characters
had both size and quality of bisque to recommend them.
The top-selling French bébé was an impressive late 19th/early
20th century 28 inch block letter FG with a bee-stung mouth, which
fetched $6,325. Other fine French bébés included a small Jumeau
bisque-head, c. 1895, that sold for $4,887.50, a Jumeau bisque-head marked E.J.,
c. 1885, that sold for $4,312.50, and a late 19th century Bébé
Français that brought $4,025. A fine Bébé Mascotte in her
original commercial clothes brought $3,737.50, a premiere Jumeau bisque swivel-head
lady doll, c. 1870s, garnered $3,450, a Bru Smiler bisque lady head and shoulder
plate, c. 1870, reached $2,990, and a late 19th century open mouth
Eden Bébé and a Jumeau bisque-head bébé sold for
$2,185 each.
A fine collection of Door of Hope dolls also brought strong prices. The splendid
kindergarten child in richly embroidered silks, a rarely found doll, sold in
the room for $2,185. Others included a young lady, a young gentleman, and a
schoolboy that sold for $920 each, and a boy in silk that realized $805. Additional
highlights in the auction included three Steiff giraffes on wheels that together
sold well above expectations at $2,185, and a truffling pig automaton by Roullet
and DeCamps that brought $805.
The extensive collection of vintage fabrics, laces and trims selected over
the years by Joanna Ott, a talented seamstress and lover of fabrics, drew much
interest and intense competition. Comments were constantly offered by auction
attendees on the quality of the offerings, and buyers bid eagerly and competitively
for the opportunity to indulge their passion for sewing with items collected
by a master of the art. The top lot, several boxes of laces and elegant finely
scaled trims, sold for $1,150.
Prices realized at this auction are posted at www.skinnerinc.com.
Skinner’s next auction featuring dolls will be held in Bolton on July 21. For
more information, contact Dorothy McGonagle at
978-779-6241 or dmcgonagle@skinnerinc.com,
or fax 978-779-5144.
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