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Lot Essay
The Royal Yacht Squadron was established in 1815 for those with an interest in salt-water racing. The Prince Regent joined the club in 1817 as did William IV, and the membership of numerous relations of Queen Victoria ensured that the regatta of the Royal Yacht Squadron became the premier yachting and social event. The tradition of the reigning monarch presenting the King's or Queen's cup was instituted by George IV in 1826 and continued until the Second World War.
The Field reported of the August 1889 match for the Queen's Cup that Lord Iveagh's Cetonia "sailed in brilliant style ... Her victory to-day was unconditionally complete, and was immensely popular in Cowes, where she was built, she being one of the best schooners ever turned out by Mr. Michael Ratsey", a renowned local ship builder. She completed the 50 mile course in 3 hours, 33 minutes and 31 seconds, outdistancing her nearest rival by twenty minutes, to win Her Majesty's Cup, valued at 100 guineas. Lord Iveagh's Cetonia appeared on the Royal Yacht Squadron list from 1883 to 1906. The schooner measured 156.6 feet and 9300 square feet of canvas.
Edward Cecil Guinness (1847-1927), first Earl of Iveagh, was a noted philanthropist and businessman, whose role in the family brewery helped to propel that firm to worldwide renown. In addition to many charitable gifts to the city of Dublin and London, the Earl of Iveagh is remembered for bequeathing a valuable collection of pictures and the estate of Kenwood in Hampstead to the nation.
The design for this presentation cup was executed by John Flaxman, the famed neoclassical sculptor, engraver and designer for Wedgwood and Rundell's. Flaxman's pen and ink drawing for the Theocritus Cup was inspired by a description of a wooden cup by the Greek poet Theocritus (c. 308-240 B.C.) in his First Idyll. A Theocritus Cup of 1812, by Paul Storr for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, was presented to King George IV from his wife Queen Charlotte and remains in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen, exhibited at The Queen's Gallery, London, Carlton House, the Past Glories of King George IV's Palace, 1991, cat. no. 86. A pair of Theocritus Cup wine coolers by Philip Rundell, 1820, sold in these Rooms on October 23, 2000, lot 405. Another pair by Rundell, 1814 and 1820, sold at Christie's, Geneva, May 15, 1985, lot 73.
(Source: Mrs. Diane Harding, Archivist, The Royal Yacht Squadron)
Post-Lot Text
SUPP IMAGE CAPTION:
Design for the Theocritus Cup, by John Flaxman, c. 1811, pen and ink and wash, Courtesy the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Field reported of the August 1889 match for the Queen's Cup that Lord Iveagh's Cetonia "sailed in brilliant style ... Her victory to-day was unconditionally complete, and was immensely popular in Cowes, where she was built, she being one of the best schooners ever turned out by Mr. Michael Ratsey", a renowned local ship builder. She completed the 50 mile course in 3 hours, 33 minutes and 31 seconds, outdistancing her nearest rival by twenty minutes, to win Her Majesty's Cup, valued at 100 guineas. Lord Iveagh's Cetonia appeared on the Royal Yacht Squadron list from 1883 to 1906. The schooner measured 156.6 feet and 9300 square feet of canvas.
Edward Cecil Guinness (1847-1927), first Earl of Iveagh, was a noted philanthropist and businessman, whose role in the family brewery helped to propel that firm to worldwide renown. In addition to many charitable gifts to the city of Dublin and London, the Earl of Iveagh is remembered for bequeathing a valuable collection of pictures and the estate of Kenwood in Hampstead to the nation.
The design for this presentation cup was executed by John Flaxman, the famed neoclassical sculptor, engraver and designer for Wedgwood and Rundell's. Flaxman's pen and ink drawing for the Theocritus Cup was inspired by a description of a wooden cup by the Greek poet Theocritus (c. 308-240 B.C.) in his First Idyll. A Theocritus Cup of 1812, by Paul Storr for Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, was presented to King George IV from his wife Queen Charlotte and remains in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen, exhibited at The Queen's Gallery, London, Carlton House, the Past Glories of King George IV's Palace, 1991, cat. no. 86. A pair of Theocritus Cup wine coolers by Philip Rundell, 1820, sold in these Rooms on October 23, 2000, lot 405. Another pair by Rundell, 1814 and 1820, sold at Christie's, Geneva, May 15, 1985, lot 73.
(Source: Mrs. Diane Harding, Archivist, The Royal Yacht Squadron)
Post-Lot Text
SUPP IMAGE CAPTION:
Design for the Theocritus Cup, by John Flaxman, c. 1811, pen and ink and wash, Courtesy the Victoria and Albert Museum