A LEAD figure of a young girl crafted by the world famous Bromsgrove Guild is set to come under the hammer later this month.

Auctioneers Sotheby's South say it is expected to make between £12,000 to £18,000.

It stands some 44 inches tall and was made in the unimposing Station Street workshops during the early part of the last century.

It is described as "standing with flo-wer and wheat entwined hair, scantily draped and gazing at a butterfly on her outstretched arm."

Unusually, it is stamped with the firm's name. Sotheby's South head of statues department Jackie Rees said it is rare for items made by the guild to come up for sale.

"We have only had two or three in the last ten years and they are becoming very collectable," she added. The seller's identity is not being divulged.

The last guild statue sold by Sotheby's in 1998 of Pan playing pipes realised £11,000.

The Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts was established in 1898 by Walter Gilbert.

It was first involved with decorative ironwork, but later expanded into many other fields including plaster, wood, stone and glass.

By 1908 the firm had an outlet in London and as a result of its most famous commission, the decorative iron and bronze gates and railings outside Buckingham Palace, it was issued with a Royal warrant appointing it metalworkers to Edward VII. The Guild folded in 1966.

The sale takes place on May 24 and 25 in Billingshurst, West Sussex.