Visitors to a Banbury auction house are being greeted by a very unusual Guy Fawkes.
But, expected to make up to £800 at Hansons Auctioneers’ sale next month, this one is not for burning.
It comes in the shape of a rare 19th-century life-sized mannequin once used by the renowned sculptor James Butler, who died in 2022.
Known to the family as Gladys, the dummy was a well-loved family treasure.
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.”
After her husband’s death, Angie is downsizing the large family home at Radway, in Warwickshire, on the edge of the Cotswolds.
Hansons Auctioneers’, Jasper Marsh, said: “We discovered Gladys at part of a routine valuation. Artists’ lay figures are popular are greatly sought after by collectors and decorators. They are valued both as functional tools for artists and as decorative objects for their historical significance and sculptural quality. With her amazing provenance I am sure she we well help her find a new home.”
The lay figure will go under the hammer at the auction house’s Holloway’ saleroom on November 19.
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.
James 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 he 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.
According to Angie his two favourite works were a statue of a ballerina modelled on his daughter Saskia and The Rainbow Soldier, made in 2011, depicting a soldier cradling a fallen comrade which is now on the site of the Battle of Croix Rouge Farm in Picardy.
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
