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Lot Essay
THE EMPEROR'S PLATE, 1845-1853
In 1844 the Emperor Nicholas I of Russia was invited by Queen Victoria to attend the Ascot Races and this he did in company with the Queen's consort, Prince Albert, the King of Saxony, the Duke of Wellington and Count Orloff among others. According to the Illustrated London News of the day he paid great attention to the races and, indeed, appears to have enjoyed them so much he subsequently offered to pay 500 sovereigns for a piece of plate to be awarded as the Ascot Gold cup. This he did from 1845 up to and including 1853 and it was renamed in his honour the Emperor's Plate. Following the outbreak of the Crimean war in March 1854, "the principle prize", as the Illustrated London News succinctly put it, was "called the Ascot Cup and not the Emperor's Vase".
The series of prizes paid for by the Emperor are astonishing and must rank as some of the most spectacular and imaginative race prizes ever commissioned. They were all massive, weighing close to a 1000 ounces each and many between three and four feet high. A brief description of them gives some idea of just how much their form varied :
1845 A centrepiece based on Falconet's well known sculpture of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, the base flanked by Russian equestrian troops. Designed by E.H. Bailey and supplied by Hunt and Roskell
1846 A thirteen light-candelabrum with St George slaying the dragon. Designed by E.H. Bailey and supplied by Hunt and Roskell.
Illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, The Glory and the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, Christie's London, 1989, pp. 222-223.
Christie's New York, 11 April 2003, lot 206
1847 A two-handled rococo vase on plinth with scenes of Russian military victories. Designed by E.H. Bailey., drawn by Howard and modelled by Brown and supplied by Hunt and Roskell
1848 A circular shield centred with Peter the Great and chased with scenes of his life. Said to have been designed by the Earl of Granville presumably in conjunction with E.H. Bailey and supplied by Hunt and
Roskell
1849 A centrepiece of the death of Hippolytus. Designed by E. Cotterrill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
1850 A ewer cast and chased with scenes from the Labours of Hercules. Designed by E. Cotterill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
Exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851. An illustration of the cup in the 1851 catalogue is reproduced in J. Culme, Nineteenth Century Silver, London, 1977, p. 158
1851 A wine-cistern, the present lot. Designed by E. Cotterill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
1852 A (?) seven-light candelabrum, the theme taken from Sir Walter Scott's Thomas the Rhymer.
Designed by E. Cotterrill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
1853 A two-handled vase with cover on plinth with scenes derived from the history of the horse.
Designed by A. Vechte and supplied by Hunt and Roskell
THE DESIGNER EDMUND COTTERILL
The designer of the 1851 Emperor's Plate, Edmund Cotterill (1795-1860) joined Garrards as the head of the design studio in 1833 and worked for them until his death. He was responsible for a considerable number of sculptural groups including examples, like the 1852 Emperor's Plate, based on the novels of Sir Walter Scott. It has been noted that many of his designs incorporated horses, which he excelled at modelling (John Culme, op. cit. p. 96).
There can be little doubt that Cotterill was supplied, perhaps by the Russian ambassador, with a print source for the elaborate group surmounting this cistern. Although a number of Russian artists painted such genre scenes, Cotterill's group is so similar to the paintings and prints of Nikolai Egorovich Sverchkov (1817-1898) as to suggest that he was working from an early unrecorded print by the Russian artist who, like Cotterill himself, was renowned for his superb images of horses.
THE 1851 PRIZE AND THE RACE
The Times of June 2, 1851 says of the Ascot race cups of that year:
'The cups to be contended for this week on Ascot-heath support the reputation of the artists and manufacturers who have been employed in the modelling and construction of them and they are good specimens of native skill and talent. The principle one, the Emperor of Russia's vase is modelled by Mr. Cotterill and manufactured by Messrs. Garrard, goldsmith to the crown, Haymarket. It is a shell-shaped cistern for cooling wine, supported on scrolls, which rest on a base of ebony and surmounted by a group representing a sledge attacked by wolves.'
The Illustrated London News also describes the cups in much the same tone and illustrates them.
Under the date Tuesday June 5th 1851 it states that:
'A PIECE OF PLATE value 500 sovereigns, the gift of the Emperor of Russia
Won by
Mr Campbell's Woolwich, the property of two or three parties connected with the "Ring".'
THE WINNER AND HIS OWNERS
Woolwich was a chestnut colt foaled in 1846 by Chatham out of Clementina by Actaeon. He was bred by Mr Wyatt and began racing in 1847 for Mr Francis Nicoll. From 1851 he raced in the name of a series of owners, namely Mr Campbell, Mr Barber and Mr J. Saxon. For the Emperor's Plate run on 5 June 1851, he was second favourite to Little Jack but, ridden by Job Manson and, racing in Mr Campbell's name,
won by a length. For the rest of his career his owners tended to alternate between the four mentioned above (i.e. the "Ring" mentioned in the Illustrated London News, op. cit.).
Having collected a £140 in prize money it is not surprising that they might have passed on their elaborate and highly fashionable trophy for cash. Unfortunately, it is not recorded when the 2nd Earl Strafford acquired this astonishing piece but it must have been sometime between when he succeeded in 1860 and his death in 1886.
In 1844 the Emperor Nicholas I of Russia was invited by Queen Victoria to attend the Ascot Races and this he did in company with the Queen's consort, Prince Albert, the King of Saxony, the Duke of Wellington and Count Orloff among others. According to the Illustrated London News of the day he paid great attention to the races and, indeed, appears to have enjoyed them so much he subsequently offered to pay 500 sovereigns for a piece of plate to be awarded as the Ascot Gold cup. This he did from 1845 up to and including 1853 and it was renamed in his honour the Emperor's Plate. Following the outbreak of the Crimean war in March 1854, "the principle prize", as the Illustrated London News succinctly put it, was "called the Ascot Cup and not the Emperor's Vase".
The series of prizes paid for by the Emperor are astonishing and must rank as some of the most spectacular and imaginative race prizes ever commissioned. They were all massive, weighing close to a 1000 ounces each and many between three and four feet high. A brief description of them gives some idea of just how much their form varied :
1845 A centrepiece based on Falconet's well known sculpture of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, the base flanked by Russian equestrian troops. Designed by E.H. Bailey and supplied by Hunt and Roskell
1846 A thirteen light-candelabrum with St George slaying the dragon. Designed by E.H. Bailey and supplied by Hunt and Roskell.
Illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, The Glory and the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, Christie's London, 1989, pp. 222-223.
Christie's New York, 11 April 2003, lot 206
1847 A two-handled rococo vase on plinth with scenes of Russian military victories. Designed by E.H. Bailey., drawn by Howard and modelled by Brown and supplied by Hunt and Roskell
1848 A circular shield centred with Peter the Great and chased with scenes of his life. Said to have been designed by the Earl of Granville presumably in conjunction with E.H. Bailey and supplied by Hunt and
Roskell
1849 A centrepiece of the death of Hippolytus. Designed by E. Cotterrill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
1850 A ewer cast and chased with scenes from the Labours of Hercules. Designed by E. Cotterill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
Exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851. An illustration of the cup in the 1851 catalogue is reproduced in J. Culme, Nineteenth Century Silver, London, 1977, p. 158
1851 A wine-cistern, the present lot. Designed by E. Cotterill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
1852 A (?) seven-light candelabrum, the theme taken from Sir Walter Scott's Thomas the Rhymer.
Designed by E. Cotterrill and supplied by R. & S. Garrard and Co.
1853 A two-handled vase with cover on plinth with scenes derived from the history of the horse.
Designed by A. Vechte and supplied by Hunt and Roskell
THE DESIGNER EDMUND COTTERILL
The designer of the 1851 Emperor's Plate, Edmund Cotterill (1795-1860) joined Garrards as the head of the design studio in 1833 and worked for them until his death. He was responsible for a considerable number of sculptural groups including examples, like the 1852 Emperor's Plate, based on the novels of Sir Walter Scott. It has been noted that many of his designs incorporated horses, which he excelled at modelling (John Culme, op. cit. p. 96).
There can be little doubt that Cotterill was supplied, perhaps by the Russian ambassador, with a print source for the elaborate group surmounting this cistern. Although a number of Russian artists painted such genre scenes, Cotterill's group is so similar to the paintings and prints of Nikolai Egorovich Sverchkov (1817-1898) as to suggest that he was working from an early unrecorded print by the Russian artist who, like Cotterill himself, was renowned for his superb images of horses.
THE 1851 PRIZE AND THE RACE
The Times of June 2, 1851 says of the Ascot race cups of that year:
'The cups to be contended for this week on Ascot-heath support the reputation of the artists and manufacturers who have been employed in the modelling and construction of them and they are good specimens of native skill and talent. The principle one, the Emperor of Russia's vase is modelled by Mr. Cotterill and manufactured by Messrs. Garrard, goldsmith to the crown, Haymarket. It is a shell-shaped cistern for cooling wine, supported on scrolls, which rest on a base of ebony and surmounted by a group representing a sledge attacked by wolves.'
The Illustrated London News also describes the cups in much the same tone and illustrates them.
Under the date Tuesday June 5th 1851 it states that:
'A PIECE OF PLATE value 500 sovereigns, the gift of the Emperor of Russia
Won by
Mr Campbell's Woolwich, the property of two or three parties connected with the "Ring".'
THE WINNER AND HIS OWNERS
Woolwich was a chestnut colt foaled in 1846 by Chatham out of Clementina by Actaeon. He was bred by Mr Wyatt and began racing in 1847 for Mr Francis Nicoll. From 1851 he raced in the name of a series of owners, namely Mr Campbell, Mr Barber and Mr J. Saxon. For the Emperor's Plate run on 5 June 1851, he was second favourite to Little Jack but, ridden by Job Manson and, racing in Mr Campbell's name,
won by a length. For the rest of his career his owners tended to alternate between the four mentioned above (i.e. the "Ring" mentioned in the Illustrated London News, op. cit.).
Having collected a £140 in prize money it is not surprising that they might have passed on their elaborate and highly fashionable trophy for cash. Unfortunately, it is not recorded when the 2