Vintage Royal Doulton Melissa HN 2467 Figurine – Designed Peggy Davies, Magenta Dress Windswept Pose, Retired, Bone China, England 1980s
A Royal Doulton figurine of Melissa, HN 2467, designed by Margaret "Peggy" Davies in 1980 and produced from 1981 until the firm retired the model in 1994. Melissa stands in a deep magenta gown with a white petticoat showing at the hem and a blue sash at the waist, her auburn hair swept up, her right hand raised to her head — the windswept pose Peggy Davies returned to often in her later designs, suggesting motion against an unseen breeze. The base is finished in white Hand made and hand decorated / Made in England / Bone China / Royal Doulton / HN 2467 / Melissa / Modelled by Peggy Davies / © Royal Doulton Tableware Limited 1980 — with the original Royal Doulton oval "Melissa" gold label still affixed.
Royal Doulton has held the Royal Warrant since 1901, and Peggy Davies (1914–1989) was the firm's principal figurine modeller from the late 1940s through the early 1980s, designing over 250 HN figurines across her career. The named-ladies "M" series — Melanie (HN 2271), Melissa (HN 2467), Mary, Megan, Michele — runs through her studio output and is the subset of her designs that collectors specifically chase as a letter set.
This Melissa is the natural companion to the Royal Doulton Melanie HN 2271 also listed in this shop — same maker, same Peggy Davies hand, same "M" series, sixteen years apart in design (Melanie 1964 / Melissa 1980), and they form one of the cleanest cross-decade Davies "M" sister pairings on the secondary market. Collectors who track the Davies named-ladies will be specifically looking for both.
Melissa retired in 1994 — every Melissa in circulation today is finite supply, and the 1980s production-window pieces are the ones serious Davies collectors hold for.
A piece for the Royal Doulton HN collector chasing the Peggy Davies named-ladies series, for the "M-series" letter collector, for the 1980s English-figurine display cabinet, for the Melanie + Melissa sister-pair collector, or as a Mother's Day / retirement / anniversary gift.
Details
- Type
- Bone China Figurine (Pretty Ladies / Peggy Davies series)
- Maker
- Royal Doulton, Stoke-on-Trent, England
- Name
- Melissa
- HN Number
- HN 2467 (retired 1994)
- Designer
- Margaret "Peggy" Davies
- Era
- Designed 1980, produced 1981–1994 (this example likely mid-1980s)
- Size
- ~7" / 18 cm tall × ~5" / 12.5 cm wide
- Material
- Fine Bone China
- Decoration
- Fully hand-painted polychrome — deep magenta gown, white petticoat, blue waist sash, auburn hair, gilt detail
- Markings
- Royal Doulton crown + lion stamp / Hand made and hand decorated / Made in England / Bone China / Royal Doulton / HN 2467 / Melissa / Modelled by Peggy Davies / © Royal Doulton Tableware Limited 1980 — with original oval Royal Doulton "Melissa" gold label
Condition
Excellent vintage condition for a forty-year-old hand-painted bone china figurine. Hand-painting crisp on dress, sash, petticoat, and hair; no chips, cracks, hairlines, or repairs visible. Gilt detail intact. Original gold "Melissa" oval label affixed to base — markedly above the second-hand market norm for retired Doulton figurines. Please review all photos as part of the condition record.
Backstamp & Pattern
- Maker
- Royal Doulton, Stoke-on-Trent, England
- Era
- Designed 1980, produced 1981–1994 (this example likely mid-1980s)
- Mark on base
- Royal Doulton crown + lion stamp / Hand made and hand decorated / Made in England / Bone China / Royal Doulton / HN 2467 / Melissa / Modelled by Peggy Davies / © Royal Doulton Tableware Limited 1980 — with original oval Royal Doulton "Melissa" gold label
Royal Doulton's lion-and-crown; on figures, the HN number identifies the model and roughly dates it by its year of introduction.
Read the full backstamp & pattern guide →
