Help w/ Indentifying Porcelain Doll

[kiwiikiss]

I was given this doll as a gift from a friend and am now hoping to sell it on eBay or on here. However I don't know the price to sell her for or who made it; there are no clear marks on her except on her neck. It says "44/1000"  I think that means it was limited edition produced or something? I am not a porcelain doll collector or anything, but if some of you are, please help!

She is very, very detailed with no stains, chips, or signs of wear.

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[butterflybuttons]

She is so pretty!

Have you had a look for a porcelain doll site?

[MiRaja]

Hi there,

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but most modern bisque ( she's bisque, not porcelain, porcelain is glazed bisque ) dolls are. . . pretty much worthless.  $10 if you're lucky, really, honestly.  Reproductions of Bru's, even Armand Marseille's are going to be worth a little more money, or quite a bit when talking about Jumeau reproductions.  Bluette reproductions are worth money, but what you're dealing with here is a China made Bisque doll that while detailed, was not made for anything other than being something pretty.  These dolls are ( yes, they're still being produced, this doll of yours isn't any older than 10 years ) produced in massive qualities and came in all sorts of packages and 'brands.'  Tracking down her actual factory of origin would likely be impossible.  These dolls are generally sold wholesale to gift shops, tourist shops, etc, etc, where the packaging is generic at best.  Case in point, my mother collects antique dolls, and prior to my dad coming home from working for a private contractor in Kuwait, she had asked him to find her a bisque doll since he had a stop over in Germany.  He found her a new doll, thinking she was German made being in Germany, and Germany's very fine doll history, but lo and behold she's made in China. . .   

Likely the reason she has little to no wear, is because she is new.    Look at her shoes, they're plastic.   

The large majority of dolls made in the last 20 years, or heck, last forty, are worth extremely little.  It's just a testament to how much standards and quality have fallen. 

[xkelpiex]

Agreeing with what MiRaja said. She is very beautiful, but was probably a 20 or 30 dollar doll and because she is second hand, now worth quite a bit less. She's gorgeous, though! If I had room for her, I would probably take her off your hands, but alas, I have over thirty dolls and most are in storage because my other collections are ruling right now.

[GothMummy]

Hi, I *think* shes an Alberon Collectors doll. My granny and aunty used to buy them for me in the early 90s. I still have two of them for sentimental value. They sold in the UK for around £30-£50 and I have seen them up to £80 new for the bigger lady dolls with lots of detailed clothing but would be worth less now because theres no real market for them.  They are sold in the kind of gift shops that sell teddies and dolls house furniture.

Shes really pretty though. I would assume she is a limited edition from her marking on the back.

The other option is that shes a modern artist doll in which case she would be worth a lot more, but I am not good at identifying them and I would have thought (though please others correct me if I am wrong) that they would have a makers mark on the neck?

Can you tell me about her construction - is she bisque arms/legs on a soft body? Does she have an all in one shoulder plate/neck, or does she have any joints anywhere (the more expensive artist dolls have ball joints etc.

How big is she?

another manufacturer of those dolls is/was Leonardo.

[xkelpiex]

Well, then, mayne I am wrong and she IS worth something!

[GothMummy]

You know, I dont think she is.... but its hard to tell from a photo, I am just throwing that out there as an option.....

[kiwiikiss]

Okay, I'll try my best to answer all your questions. I'm glad to at least know she is bisque, it'll help me when searching for any pictures of her or similar dolls online. Regardless of her worth, I'll make a profit since she was free. If anyone wants her, please tell me! I need to get rid of her, sadly.

@MiRaga she is 6-7 years old, so you're right, certainly not older then 10.

@GothMummy I definitely think she is an Alberon Collectors doll. If so, she's probably in the $10-$15 dollar range, dolls like her are selling on eBay for about $12. As for her construction, the only joined part is her head. Her legs are soft all the way to her knees where they become bisque and her arms are similar, soft until her elbows where they become bisque. Her waist is soft and her bust is bisque. (Sorry if I'm explaining this horridly, once again I basically know nothing about these types of dolls.) She is about 25" inches tall.

[GothMummy]

Hi KiwiKiss - I think that you are probably right but its worth looking at the dolls by Hildegarde Gunzel and other modern doll artists who work in porcelain. Hildegard Gunzel is the artist who she most reminds me of. The quality of the head/neck joint is very nice and you dont often get that on those cheap collector dolls.

[kiwiikiss]

Okay, but wouldn't I need to also look at bisque doll makers?  Sorry, confused! The faces of Hildegarde Gunzel's doll do look pretty similar to mine, though. Thank you so much.

[tulagirl]

A Hildegarde Gunzel will be marked. That mark will be her name and on the back of the neck of the doll.  She is a major doll artist and her dolls are very well marked.  Not just with numbers but with a name as well.  Her shoes do not have the quality of a Gunzel doll to me.  I would say she is not a Gunzel, but I am not a total expert on Gunzel.  My suggestion is that you post this photo you have on the ebay doll board.  Its a discussion board and those ladies will know if your bisque is a bisque or a porcelain mass produced doll. They will probably be able to tell you within a matter of minutes. They know their dolls.

[kiwiikiss]

Okay, thank you.

[butterflybuttons]

That's really interesting!