Rochard Doll Company Porcelain Bisque Doll "Julia - In the Beginning" made in the 1867-1870 French style of E A Rochard.
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A Beautiful Shoulder-head Rochard Fashion Doll with Stanhope Jeweled Necklace made by stanhope Doll Artists Jennie Sykes and Michael Sheibley for the Rochard Doll Company. She is the very first of her kind in a limited mold run of only 20 dolls. "Julia - In the Beginning", as she has been named, is #1 of 20 and is inscribed with the #1 on the back of the shoulderplate. She has a lovely Victorian style, look and feel and features high quality blue paperweight glass eyes, nicely styled mohair wig, and pierced ears with lovely coordinated coral and gold earrings. Rochard dolls are known for their exquisite costumes, often inspired by historical fashion trends. Julia's ballgown costume has been designed and sewn by hand. Her underwear is all artist-made and consists of a chemise, pantaloons, corset and silk half-slip. The ballgown is made of vintage blue silk taffeta shot with gold threads. It is completely lined and assembled in the manner of historical costume of the era. The bodice and sleeves are bound in a rusty coral hue dupioni to compliment the coral-colored pendant painted onto the shoulder plate. She wears custom-made matching silk dancing slippers to pull the entire look together in anticipation of an elegant evening. Now if she could only find her dance cards!
The fine painting and detail of her aristocratic looking face conveys as warm overall impression. Her most extraordinary features are the gold painted necklace and incorporated "Rochard Jewels" that adorn her breast-plate. There are 2 jewels in the necklace and each one contains a microphoto that is only noticeable if you hold your eye closely to the cabochon and peek inside. The microphotos are very clear and easy to see as they are automatically magnified about 150x. Even folks who use eye-glasses can easily see the microscopic photos with the naked eye while not wearing them. Such jewels are the same type of stanhope lens that was invented about 1867-8 by A.E. Rochard for use in dolls and toys. Rochard only produced a few dolls (less than a dozen), and most of the surviving exemplar are in museums, so you can imagine how rare, sought-after and valuable Rochard dolls are today. This doll is a beautiful presentation piece. She is 15" tall. The back of the shoulderplate has a window cut-out to allow for the necessary back-light in order to illuminate the tiny photo pictures in the lens jewels. This is a scarce opportunity to own an amazing doll that offers great character, intrigue and high investment value. Identification marks include the doll artists name inscribed in the porcelain, the signature of the micro-photographer, and the telltale "Rochard" marking inside the shoulderplate in the usual place and manner.
Julia features 2 stanhope jewels, one small clear version and a large blue version in the pendant. The stanhope images are very high high resolution, clear & crisp microphotos that depict a Victorian era man in a chair with cane and cylinder style top-hat. We believe this image possibly depicts A E Rochard. It is the image found in at least two of the antique versions of this doll. The larger jewel shows an image of a famous painting depicting Adam And Eve and is titled in French below the image.
Julia is an unusual, and attention grabbing conversation piece and will make a wonderful addition to the right doll collection. To learn more about Julia and the work of Rochard doll company artisans, see our blog article Resurrecting Rochard - The Rochard Doll Company
Arrives boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity.
