Simon & Halbig Bisque "Rosa Luxemburg" Doll, ca. 1910
GUEST: She's my paternal grandmother's doll.
APPRAISER: And when was your grandmother a little girl, what time period?
GUEST: Uh... 1900. And I don't really know when she actually got this.
APPRAISER: So you inherited it-- um...
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Did, the other family members were involved in that, or...
GUEST: Well, they-- none of 'em liked it.
APPRAISER: And why is that?
GUEST: They didn't like the face. Nobody else wanted it. And I w, that was the only thing I really wanted out of her estate.
APPRAISER: Oh, you're my girl. (both laugh) So they didn't like her face? Why, though?
GUEST: I don't... They thought it was haunting.
APPRAISER: Oh, the creepy doll syndrome.
GUEST: Mm-hmm, yeah.
APPRAISER: She was made by a German company, Simon and Halbig, and she's mold number 152, and she was made some time in the, uh, 19-teens. She was actually made as an exhibit doll, and it's believed-- we don't have firm documentation, but it's believed by many doll scholars-- that she represents a historical figure named Rosa Luxemburg.
GUEST: Oh, my heavens! You have a name now!
APPRAISER: Yes, she does.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: She was born in 1871, in Poland...
GUEST: Oh!
APPRAISER: ...as a Jewish girl. Rosa had a limp. A disability, actually.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: And she limped her whole life. In those times, being disabled...
GUEST: Oh, yes.
APPRAISER: ...you were kind of scorned and you just kind of stayed home.
GUEST: (murmuring) Ostracized.
APPRAISER: True. And Rosa? No. She was a human rights activist in Germany.
GUEST: Ah.
APPRAISER: She's very anti-war. She's all about the common man. She was in jail several times for her writings, and even died for those beliefs. And one of her biggest things was the January event in 1919, which was a bloody several days.
GUEST: Mm.
APPRAISER: And that-- and of course, then after that, she was killed. But they still celebrate her in Germany to this day.
GUEST: Oh, gee.
APPRAISER: Thousands of people. I've only seen four or five of these dolls ever. And in pictures.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: This is the first one I've had in my hands.
GUEST: Uh-huh
APPRAISER: And all the others-- Joan of Arc, all the other Rosa Luxemburgs-- all have blue eyes. And here you have the one and only one that I know about in the world with brown eyes.
GUEST: (chuckles)
APPRAISER: That is so rare. We call them intaglio eyes because they're not just flat painted eyes.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: If you were to actually touch the doll, it indents a little bit.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And that makes it look a little bit more realistically human. She's got a highly characterized face. She's obviously an adult woman.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And Simon and Halbig made beautiful character dolls. And her head is made of fine porcelain bisque. Her body is wood and composition, and it's ball-jointed so that you could pose her. She has pierced ears, and this was a typical Simon Halbig thing to do. The earrings have been replaced in a very colorful fashion. (both chuckle) It's not her original undergarments, but definitely antique undergarments.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And let me tell you, folks, this wig is divine. She has her beautiful original antique mohair wig.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: In outstanding condition. And then the other thing is... Her bisque is perfect. We've got a little glue residue on the forehead, probably when the wig was glued on.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And then we have a little bit of foot damage. Her retail value will be somewhere between $22,000 and $26,000.
GUEST: Wow. Wow. Thank you, I... I mean, that's amazing. (laughs)
APPRAISER: One just recently came to auction, and she sold for $90,000.
GUEST: Whoa!
$22,000 - $26,000 Auction
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Understanding Our Appraisals
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
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