Dame Edna's glasses fetch £37k at auciton

A pair of Barry Humphries' Dame Edna Everage glasses, with possums around the frames, have sold at auction for £37,800.

The figure is more than 25 times the estimate that auction house Christie’s put on them – and comes after Robbie Williams paid £20,000 for a pair of Eric Morecambe’s old spectacles at a separate sale.

Other items auctioned included a gown worn by Humphries as Dame Edna at the Royal Variety Show in 2013, which was sold for £21,420, eight times its pre-sale estimate; and another based on Edvard Munch’s The Scream, right, sold for £44,100, more than 14 times the estimate.

In total, the nine-hour action of the late comedian’s effects raised £4.6million. 

The top price of the sale was Charles Conder’s painting Sand dunes, Ambleteuse which sold for £239,400, while a first edition of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, inscribed by the author to his publisher, fetched £138,600.

Benedict Winter, of Christie’s London said: ‘These fantastic results are a testament to Barry’s unique vision and lifelong passion for collecting. 

‘Extraordinary prices were achieved for Symbolist art, works on paper, books and of course Dame Edna’s ‘face furniture’ and dresses. 

'Christie’s is incredibly proud to have offered this iconic collection at auction, with the results paying a fitting tribute to Barry Humphries and his remarkable legacy’

Humphries died in 2023 of complications from hip surgery, aged 89. A state memorial was held at the Sydney Opera House in his honour.

Published: 14 Feb 2025