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Purchased during a recent trip to Paris, this little François Gaultier “nun-to-be” (12″) is quite the find due to her special originality, history, and unique provenance. She wears her original black wool robe and veil of a young convent student and rests in her antique oval wood box, which has a handwritten note attached under the lid.

It reads:

“Doll dressed like the students of the Ladies of the Visitation (the Congregation of the Visitation, known as the Visitandines). My grandmother, Mrs. Elluin née Elisabeth Lottin, was a boarding student there in 1858. (Address of the school) Rue de Vaugirard, Paris. (Written on the side of the paper) I leave this doll to Marie Françoise.”

This makes her all the more special when you see her blue enamel eyes thoughtfully peering out from her pale bisque face beneath her original blond mohair wig. She has a stationary neck and shoulder plate and an all-kid leather body with mitten-type hands, and she remains in unplayed-with condition throughout, with her clothing never having been removed. The original cotton undergarments and tiny black leather slippers can be seen under her skirt. The aqua ribbon sash accents her presentation and may hold special significance, while the gold-tone metal crucifix around her neck completes her story.

Uniquely sculpted with elegant, characterful molding, we have here a rare Jumeau deluxe fashion doll in a large exhibition size. The Exhibition fashions, circa 1880, often featured ethnic characteristics and were dressed in foreign or exotic costumes, traveling to and from exhibitions and fairs across Europe for display and education.

The costume on this beautiful lady is not original but was made with antique silk fabric and trim, so her original presentation is unknown—except for the elaborate updo of her original wig that crowns her finely detailed face. She has sultry almond eyes, strong feathered brows and lashes, a long aquiline nose, high cheekbones, pierced ears, and, for her, very rare open rose-colored lips with teeth showing. The earliest examples in this innovative series of portrait fashions were not ethnic and closely resembled this fine example, except for the open mouth.

She has a swivel neck on a bisque shoulder plate and a fully gusseted kid leather body. There is an area of leather patching on the back of the hips and evidence of some reattachment to the collar and chest area. Underneath her silk two-piece promenade gown is an impressive antique lace-adorned slip (with many holes) featuring a long train that flirts with the skirt hem. She also wears a pink corset and antique pantaloons with pink ribbon accents. On her head rests a fabulous antique chapeau of heavy, bent straw with a metallic tinge. The title “Portrait” identifying this lovely fashion has special meaning—she photographs as though she truly belongs in a period painting of a distinguished lady!

The stunning quality of this early French fashion doll gives her a life of her own, with her almond-shaped blue enamel eyes, full bisque face and shoulder head with the palest complexion, subtle shading, and delicate decoration of features. Her rose-colored lips seem to smile with quiet contentment. Her styled blond mohair wig is antique, and her gusseted all-kid leather body with stitched separate fingers is in beautiful, firm condition, with a small patch of repair at her left elbow and knee.

While her opulent two-piece silk walking dress is not original, it is a skilled interpretation of what this lady would have worn, crafted from antique fabrics and trim. Her underclothing is antique, as is her prim flowered straw bonnet, and her heeled slippers are of more recent production, made in the antique style.