A Victorian full-sized lay figure owned by the late sculptor James Butler MBE RA (1931-2022) sold for £5,700 (including a buyer’s premium of 26.5 percent) at Hansons Auctioneers Oxfordshire saleroom.
Gladys, as she was known to Butler’s family, sparked a bidding war at Holloways – Hansons’ Banbury saleroom – beating her guide price of £600-£800, before selling to a private UK buyer.
Approximately 1.5m (4ft 11in) tall, the mannequin was made by artists’ materials supplier Charles Roberson & Co., which opened a shop in Long Acre in Covent Garden in 1810.
The fully-jointed figure, with a papier-mâché head and body stuffed with horse hair, had been discovered in Butler’s studio in Radway, Warwickshire, where she was reclining on a photocopier.
Holloways’, Jasper Marsh, said: “We discovered Gladys at part of a routine valuation and were thrilled to see how much excitement she created in the saleroom. We’d had her on display in the window in Banbury where she soon became a talking point. That interest translated into three phone lines book as well as considerable interest in the room.”
James Butler’s widow, Angie, said: “I don’t remember where Jim got her from, but we have had her for at least 40 years. She was a permanent feature while our daughters were growing up. They were partly interested in her and partly terrified by her.
“My husband was a great figurative sculptor and loved the female form. He used the mannequin to see how clothes would fall and then capture it better.”
Popular among collectors and interior designers, articulated mannequins have been used by artists since the 16th century, their rigid poses allowing them to achieve the best depiction of drapery, light and clothing.
Butler, who died at the age of 90, was known internationally for his monumental figurative sculptures, including his 2015 four-metre bronze statue of late Queen Elizabeth II.
The statue, showing the monarch in full garter robes was unveiled at Runnymede, Surrey, to celebrate of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.
In addition to his larger statues, Butler also made designs for the Royal Mint including the Royal Seal of the Realm in 2001.
Angie, 78, continued: “Jim met the late Queen on several occasions including the times he sat for him while he was designing the royal seal. But I can’t say he ever used Gladys as the late Queen’s double!”
In 2004 Butler designed the 50p piece commemorating Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile and, a year later, the £5 coin to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
In the 19th and early 20th century the makers of the mannequin, Charles Roberson – described as ‘artists’ colourmen’ – included JMW Turner, James McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent among their customers.
An archive of the company’s ledgers and customer records can be found at the Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge, part of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
Auction Details
Auction: Banbury November Fine Art & Antiques Auction
Auction date: 19th November 2025 | 9:30am
Location: Hansons Oxfordshire Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
