Splendid French Bisque Portrait Poupee by Alexandre Dehors with Fine Original Costume

18" (46 cm.) Pale bisque swivel head with regal expression, cameo-shaped face and elongated throat, attached to bisque shoulder plate with Dehors deposed neck attachment that permits the doll to nod, tilt and swivel its head in infinite poses, cobalt blue glass enamel inset eyes, dark eyeliner, painted lashes, arched feathered brows, accented eye corners and nostrils, closed mouth with slightly smiling expression on pale accented lips, ears pierced into head, brunette mohair wig over cork pate, shapely kid body with kid-over- wood dowel jointed upper arms, bisque arms from above the elbows with modeled bent right elbow, gusset-jointed hips and knees. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Auguste Alexandre Dehors, whose remarkable 1866 depose neck attachment was described as allowing the doll to "raise or lower [its head] modestly or triumphantly." A Dehors signed example of the identical facial model with this system is known. Value Points: extremely rare doll, her rarity rivaled by portrait-like beauty, superb quality of bisque and painting, perfectly preserved state, and superb original costume comprising blue linen suit with lace trim, undergarments, woven bonnet with lace streamers, turquoise earrings, leather ankle boots.