C'est Fantastique!

An extremely rare size 5 bisque head Jumeau character doll mould 203 from the ‘Series Fantastique’, French, circa 1895, is coming to auction on November 30th!

What is Jumeau?

Jumeau was a French company that designed and manufactured bisque dolls. It was founded in the early 1840s by Louis-Desire Belton and Pierre-François Jumeau in the the Maison Jumeau of Montreuil-sous-bois, near Paris. The company gained a reputation for beautiful dolls with exquisite clothing; At the 1849 Paris Exposition, it was commented that “The clothed doll is not only a plaything, but often serves to a foreigner as a model of our fashions.”

During the early years, the company sold exclusively their own dolls to wholesalers, but moved into selling wax dolls imported from Britain during the 1850s and 1860s. In 1867, at the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), the company won a Silver Medal with special mention of the ‘doll’s heads’ being made. It was during this year that Pierre-François’ son, Emile Jumeau, joined the company and by 1877, Emile Jumeau had produced the first Bébé dolls - these were dolls made in the image of little children, unlike the grown ladies that previous dolls had resembled. The Jumeau company won a Gold Medal at the Exposition Universelle (1878) and, going forward, this award was advertised on the bodies, boxes, shoes and even dress labels of the dolls. Jumeau won a number of other prestigious awards, including the prize for the best dollmaker at both the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 and Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880 in Australia.

Emile Jumeau's 'Series Fantastique' was a series of dolls that were extremely exclusive and produced solely for the special commissions or exhibition purposes. The series ran from mould number 201 to 221, many having heavily moulded heads showing children and sometimes adults with character facial expressions, such as our 203 depicting a smiling child; fixed brown glass paperweight eyes, delicately painted long lashes and feather brows, nicely shaped nose with shading to nostrils, open/closed mouth with endearing broad smile, moulded upper teeth, accented tongue and moulded laughter creases. In general, as these pieces were special commissions, very few were produced and therefore very rare today.

Following Jumeau’s success, the dolls became internationally sought after as luxury items and symbols of status. Business for Jumeau was booming from the late 1870s to the late 1890s, when competition from German dolls brought financial difficulties. German dolls in the 1890s were more affordable than the French; by no means were they as elegant in costume and face as the best Jumeau dolls, but these dolls were still well-made and cherished by the children for whom they were bought. In response to this, the Jumeau dolls from the latter years of the 1890s are of more variable quality.

Our fantastic doll consignment is extremely rare and will go under the hammer on the 30th November. It's estimated to make between £8,000 - £12,000! Our Doll Specialist Leigh is still taking consignments for this auction.

Consign to Auction!

If you’ve any dolls, teddy bears, or dolls houses you’d like to have valued and sold, why not get in touch? Fill out an online valuation form or contact our office to speak to Leigh or book an appointment.