Buyers Shell out for Shelley Girl
29th October 2008An advertising figure for Shelley Potteries has fetched a record price for the factory at Woolley and Wallis salerooms. 'Shelley Girl' was a figure given to shops by the Potteries to display alongside their latest tea services. Estimated at a reserved £500-800, the piece was contested by dealers and collectors, eventually selling for £4,000 - the highest ever auction price for a piece of Shelley.
'Shelley Girl' had added kudos, being part of the collection of the late Verity Lambert OBE - the first ever producer of the BBC sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Ms Lambert was an avid collector of modern pictures and Art Deco objects, and her collection (which also included a Roger Broders poster of Antibes at £3,000) was sold at Woolley and Wallis on 21st October 2008. Several friends of the highly regarded film and television producer were present in the saleroom on the day, along with her dog, Bon Bon.
Other highlights of her collection included an Igni, Torino figure of a woman draped over a crescent moon, which sold for £740, and a bronze model of a panther by Louis Albert Carvin, which fetched £900.
