Bisque Doll Repair

French Fashion Antique Bisque Head Restoration

Measuring 9 1/2 ” around, this lovely French head was worth the effort to restore it. The bisque is a lovely translucent shade and smooth silky texture. The break on this head was from the crown, through the ear, down the cheek to the mouth, exiting on the other side of the mouth, looping to the neck and up back to the crown. These types of restores are tricky because of the curves in the head and also the differences in the colors, with the forehead lighter, darkening toward the cheeks, additional shading near the mouth and then back up to the crown. The application is in several very thin coats to allow the beauty of the porcelain to remain and replicating the several colors in the head.

Before facial view	After front view
BEFORE Neck Area	AFTER Neck view
BEFORE cheek area right side	AFTER right side
BEFORE left side	AFTER left side

ABG (Alt Beck Gottschalk) Bisque Restoration

This antique bisque doll head is probably the worst I have seen in that it was broken in many pieces, with some pieces missing. It had been previously, restored some 20 years ago. It had not been reinforced on the inside and glued with an inappropriate product, so it was now coming apart. The paint used was a heavy acrylic with did not allow the translucent beauty of the head to come through. My photos show the head with and without some of the previous work as well as a completed head.

After previous paint was cleaned off there was nothing to hold the pieces together.	Back after previous paint was removed.

Jumeau 8 Invisible Restoration Repair

This lovely antique French Jumeau 8 doll head had forehead and temple cracks. The porcelain forehead crack was from the crown to the eye and the temple crack was from the crown to the eye, down the cheek to behind the ear.

Jumeau 8 after restoration repair on bisque doll head Before front view

Jumeau 8 after restoration repair on bisque doll head front view

Invisible Face Restore on Tete Jumeau 10

This lovely Jumeau had a previous head break that had been filled as well as a hairline crack extending from the eye. The previous repair had been done badly and was now unstable, paint flaking and chips in the fill areas.

: BEFORE face view of Tete Jumeau 10. Break is from crown, down forehead, to corner of eye, through cheek, across neck, up neck to crown. Additional hairline from corner of eye toward ear.

: AFTER Tete Jumeau 10

: BEFORE L cheek

: BEFORE Left Side

: AFTER

: BEFORE

: BEFORE

: AFTER

: BEFORE

: BEFORE

: AFTER

: AFTER Forehead

Invisible Restoration Antique ABG 1362 Doll

This lovely antique German Alt Beck Gottschalck doll head was a family heirloom, passed down from the grandmother. Held in a place of honor, the doll was accidentally dropped. Fully restored, she is lovely and ready to take her place of honor again!

Kestner 148 Antique Doll Shoulder Head Repair

This 1880′s German shoulder head has a leather body. the head was broken in several pieces as well as cracks that needed to be reinforced, filled and painted.

: BEFORE

: BEFORE front view glued back together

: BEFORE back view glued together

: BEFORE side view glued together

: AFTER front view

: AFTER side view

: AFTER back view

: AFTER L side view

Head Cracks in a French Fashion

This lovely French Fashion doll had several head cracks, on both temples and into the face. The left side had a V shaped crack that went from the crown, through the brow and down the cheek. The other temple had another V shaped crack that extended through the eye. In addition, a large part of the upper forehead was reconstructed. Previous repairs by someone else had used acrylic paints and spray acrylic sealer, which flaked and yellowed over time, covering the beautiful translucency of the bisque. After repair was complete the beauty of the bisque was present again.

Character Baby Face Restoration

This antique bisque character baby, needing repair and restoration, was considered a basket case after being dropped on her face.

antique bisque character baby head restore

BEFORE

AFTER dressed ready to go home

BEFORE most of face in pieces

AFTER happy baby again!

AFTER side view

Restore Facial Color to a Kestner

This small Kestner head had no color on one temple near the eye that included lashes and brow. There was also no color on parts of the forehead, one side of the nose and around the other eye. The tricky part about redoing the color was the head was only a couple of inches tall, making it difficult to place color and then restore the lashes, without making it overdone.

AFTER all dressed

BEFORE Kestner lacking facial color around eyes, nose and cheek

AFTER facial color restored

AFTER Kestner facial color restored

Talking French Jumeau body and voice restoration

AFTER wearing duplicated original Jumeau dress

This talking Jumeau had a “Ma-Ma, Pa-Pa” non-working voice box, along with paint loss & lifting paint. After repair, a replica dress was made for this lovely French Jumeau by Antique Child Doll Restoration.

AFTER legs restored

AFTER fully Mama Papa voice box and finish restored

BEFORE showing wear and socket

BEFORE thigh and leg wear

BEFORE leg and joint wear with vice box ready to work on

BEFORE apart

Armand Marseille Floradora . . . . .

AFTER all put together with *new* clothing she is ready to go home

A complete restore is always interesting when I open a box in which the owner declares “I had to buy her because she has such a sweet face.” That is the long and short of how this doll came to be restored. She retained her upper thighs, one full and one half arm and her torso. Her poor head had multiple breaks from a large section gone from the rim, to a large crack at the back, temple and on her forehead. After appropriate parts were installed, her body repaired and her head received invisible restoration, she is indeed lovely.

Customer Comment:

“WOW JANIE!!!!!! Man!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!OK, first of all… Good Morning! Nice way to start the day today! Thank you!!! The doll is AWESOME!!! It is so INCREDIBLE that she went from a nasty pile of dust, and bisque to a beautiful doll!! WOW!! And the dress!! IMPRESSIVE INDEED!!! Not only do you show how she looked before and after, but you certainly show the actual process of her head going through the various steps of restoring it to ‘as new’ condition!! AWESOME!!! I just cannot find the right words to describe how cool it is to see your amazing work done on this doll! And yeah, she sure is a beautiful doll! It definitely is more a piece of artwork than just a play thing! Never in a million years did I think she would look this good!! AWESOME!!!! Felipe Nistal”

BEFORE front view

BEFORE side view

BEFORE back view

AFTER front view

AFTER side view

After back view