Recently, I watched the new film about Marie Antoinette and Madame Pompadour was wearing a gown with a vertical row of bows down the center of her bodice just as depicted on this doll.
Although the faces of the female Evelt dolls are mostly cast from the same mold the costumes are lavish and unique. Madame Pompadour must have been particularly fond of bows as I have another portrait doll of her produced by the Franklin Mint that is also dressed in a bow-adorned fashion. This porcelain doll was produced in Europe. I was able to obtain her with a winning bid on Ebay. Evelt dolls were originally priced at an average of 86 British pounds but I was able to add her to my collection for less than $50 (US).
Welcome!
Welcome to my new blog about dolls of the French Court. I have consolidated my former French Dolls web page into this blog format to allow me to easily update you about new acquisitions to this group of my collection and share any articles or news I encounter about collecting dolls, historical figures, and miniatures depicting historical French figures. I hope you enjoy reading it!
The historical figure at right is Princess Lamballe by artist/historian George S. Stuart. Mr. Stuart spends up to six months creating his one-of-a-kind museum-quality figures. He meticulously recreates all clothing and accessories after carefully researching available historical documents and extant portraits of the individual.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
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e court of Louis XVI, especially Marie Antoinette. 
the sword that are displayed at the Chateau of Fontainebleau, I had to be satisfied with admiring only this oil portrait at the exhibit - "The Coronation Procession on the Pont-Neuf" by Jacques Bertaux.
e at present is a small costume doll produced by Rexard of Essex in England. Rexard costume dolls are made of lighter-weight plastic than Nisbet dolls and the fabrics they use are not equal in quality to the fabric used by Nisbet. But, they are nicely detailed and cost an average of only $8 - $12 each compared to $26 - over $100 for Nisbet models. I have only seen one Nisbet Josephine come up for bid and she was quickly bid out of my reach. Madame Alexander makes a Josephine but she looks so childish I didn't choose to bid on her. 
utiful "Great Eras" Barbie dressed in a French Imperial gown. Although Barbie collectors tend to be a group of their own, I have found some of the Barbie period pieces to be quite nicely detailed with a commendable effort to be authentic. Notice the gowns of the Imperial ladies invited to the wedding of Napoleon and the Arch Duchess Marie-Louise of Austria from this painting by Georges Rouget (1784-1869). Barbie looks quite appropriately attired.
deeply in debt. Louis' chief financial officer was a man named Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727-1781), who was a brilliant and creative administrator. Turgot instantly set about trying to reform the country's financial situation by instituting a series of reforms that included replacing the corvée with a tax on landowners, an easing of guild laws to allow industrial manufacturing to increase, and, radically, a sharp cut in monarchical expenses. Had these reforms gone through, the Revolution probably would never have happened."
s not that there were few opportunities but she is a popular subject among collectors and it took me a while before one came up with the costume I wanted (the pink velvet cape actually matches the one worn by Louis) for the price I wanted to pay.
rtrait artist and captured the queen on canvas many times. Probably her most famous portrait is Marie Antoinette with a rose. I have two antique half dolls made into bedside lamps that could very well be Marie Antoinette. I purchased both of them at the local flea market. I purchased the smaller of the two from a very old lady who said she had had the nightlight ever since she was a child and was cleaning out her attic. I was so surprised (and pleased) that it didn't even have one
broken finger - quite a feat since both of the half-doll's hands are extended away from her body. 
nch vendor that appeard to be from the same historical period. The male doll was labeled "Jean Philippe" but the female was not labeled. She looks like she could be a Marie Antoinette. I was impressed with the detail of their hair and costumes as well as their delicate little open-and-close eyes.
uccessor, are also favorite subjects of doll creators. 
"Jeanne Becu was the illegitimate daughter of a woman from the Champagne region who had become a cook in Paris. After starting life as an assistant in a milliner's shop, Jeanne attached herself to a Gascon pimp and cardsharper, Comte Jean Du Barry, known from his large female entourage as "Mahomet". She spent four years working for Mahomet as a high-class expensive prostitute. Then she came to the notice of the King, lonely since the death of his mistress Madame de Pompadour (did not show in RoV). She had no conversation, nothing to recommend her but the bloom of youth and sexual expertise. The King ordered her to marry Comte Jean Du Barry, so that she could come to Court. Louis XV installed her in the late Queen's apartments."