Dame Edna’s glasses sell for 25 times their expected value as auction smashes estimates | Ents & Arts News

A pair of Dame Edna Everage’s glasses have sold at auction for £37,800, 25 times their estimated value.

The glasses were expected to sell for between £1,000-£1,500, according to Christie’s auction house, who facilitated the sale.

They were being sold as part of the personal collection of Barry Humphries.

Dame Edna was one of Humphries’ best-known characters and became a hit in the UK in the 1970s.

The Australian star, who was known for his satirical characters including Dame Edna and the offensive Sir Les Patterson, died in April 2023 at the age of 89, following complications suffered during hip surgery.

The yellow-lacquered possum spectacles were one of a number of items sold during the auction, which was opened to bidders with Dame Edna’s much-loved phrase “Hello Possums”.

Christie’s described the sale as evidence of “Edna’s enduring appeal”.

A first edition of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest, signed by Wilde to his publisher, sold for £138,600, and a Charles Conder painting sold for almost £240,000.

Meanwhile, two dresses worn by Dame Edna sold for £21,420 each, eight times their pre-sale high estimates.

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A number of other pieces of art, books and highlights of Humphries’ collection were also sold during the auction which saw bidders from 41 countries and lasted nine hours.

The total sale value reached £4,627,224, exceeding the pre-sale estimate.

“These fantastic results are a testament to Barry’s unique vision and lifelong passion for collecting,” Benedict Winter, head of sale, private & iconic collections at Christie’s London said.