A VICTORIAN SILVER-GILT HORSE RACING TROPHY
VARIOUS PROPERTIES
A VICTORIAN SILVER-GILT HORSE RACING TROPHY

MARK OF JOHN FIGG, LONDON, 1853

Details
A VICTORIAN SILVER-GILT HORSE RACING TROPHY
MARK OF JOHN FIGG, LONDON, 1853
Cylindrical, on a double domed circular base with acanthus and oak borders, the body applied with oak leaves and acorns, with a leaf-capped scroll handle, the double domed cover with gadrooning and acanthus with heraldic finial, the body engraved Newton Races 1854 The Gift of the Lord of the Manor; marked on shoulder, cover, finial, and nut, the base engraved with a later inscription
15½ in. (39.4 cm.) high; 117 oz. 10 dwt. (3669 gr.)

Lot Essay

The Newton Races were one of England's oldest horse races, started in 1660 by Richard Legh and held in Newton-le-Willows until 1898. The Legh family sponsored these races which were held every July at the Old Golborne Heath course. The races were well attended with regular visits from the Royal family. After the arrival of the railroad in 1842, Newton-le-Willows was transformed into a thriving city and the passenger trains brought large crowds to the races.

This particular trophy was sponsored by Thomas Legh, Lord of the Manor (1792-1857). Legh was a famous explorer and collector whose pioneering expeditions through Egypt and up the Nile into Nubia were well documented in the early nineteenth century.

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