Vintage Porcelain Boy Bust with Dark Curls
Vintage porcelain bust figurine depicting a young child with glossy black curly hair and blue eyes. The piece features hand-painted facial details including rosy cheeks and red lips, with a simple cream-colored bust base. The figurine appears to be from the mid-20th century, showing age-appropriate wear and patina on the unglazed bottom. No maker’s mark is visible. The piece has two holes on the bottom, suggesting it may have been designed to be mounted or displayed in a specific way. The figurine is in good vintage condition with minimal wear to the painted surface.
Approximately 3 to 3.5 inches tall
Inherited
Yes
Hi BC,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
This is a glazed porcelain doll's head and would, originally, have been attached to a composition (a papier-mache like material made of sawdust and glue), cloth- or kid-leather body. This is a category of dolls called "China dolls" because they are a type of ceramic doll with glazed porcelain heads, typically with painted facial features and molded hair, paired with cloth or leather bodies. They were most popular during the mid-19th century and are rarely signed or marked, making it difficult to specifically pinpoint who made them. Eventually, doll makers - most notably those in France and Germany - turned to making doll heads out of bisque (unglazed) porcelain and attaching them to cloth or composition - and China dolls became outdated.
In the current market, China dolls with attached bodies rarely bring more than $100-150 for the larger ones (20 inches or more), with smaller dolls selling for less than that. A head on its own would be worth between $40 and $60.
Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
An antique China doll head
American or European, mid 19th Century
With painted and glazed porcelain head wearing a black lace bonnet, peach-colored silk dress with black lace trim, with porcelain hands and legs. Unsigned.
3 to 3-1/2 inches long
CONDITION: This doll's appears to be in very good all-original condition.
PROVENANCE: Inherited
$ 40-60*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia
