Emile Jumeau bisque headed character doll – $240,000 (£172,660) at Theriault’s.
It was the top lot in Theriault’s (15% buyer’s premium) Marquis dolls auction held on July 10-11 in Annapolis, Maryland.
The 2ft 1in (64cm) high doll, model no 218, has a wide open mouth and a startled expression and is dressed in a red silk Jumeau dress, matching bonnet, red stockings and kid shoes over a brown composition and wooden jointed body.
It comes from Jumeau’s 200 art character series which depicts children with highly characterised expressions.
Only a few examples of the 218 model were made and this, says the auction house, is the only existing example known of the brown complexioned bébé. It sold for $240,000 (£172,660) against an estimate of $140,000-180,000.
