.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The Goodwood Cup of 1872 represents “The Death of The Stag” from the scene in Sir Walter Scott’s poem, The Lady of the Lake (canto I, verse 7):
The laboring stag strained full in view.
Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed,
Unmatched for courage, breath, and speed,
Fast on his flying traces came,
And all but won that desperate game
The west Sussex Journal
The Daily News (2 August 1872, Issue 8195) and The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent (29 July 1872, issue 5055) both describe the cup race and the West Sussex Journal describes the silver cup itself as ‘a spirited group from the manufactory of Hunt and Roskell’ (6 August 1872, p. 3e).
Mentmore and Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874)
Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874) formed one of the greatest art collections of the nineteenth century. The art collections at Mentmore prompted Lady Eastlake to comment: 'I do not believe that the Medici were ever so lodged at the height of their glory'. Mentmore was built between 1852 and 1854 by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild, who needed a house near to London and in close proximity to other Rothschild homes at Tring, Ascot, Aston Clinton and later Waddesdon and Halton House. The plans for the mansion imitated Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and were drawn up by the gardener turned architect Joseph Paxton, celebrated for his Crystal Palace, completed the year earlier. Sumptuously furnished with extraordinary works of art in every field, on his death in 1874, Baron Mayer left Mentmore and a fortune of some £2,000,000 to his daughter, Hannah de Rothschild. Four years later Hannah married Archibald Philip, 5th Earl of Rosebery, who added considerably to the collections assembled by his father-in-law and it remained intact until the dispersal of the contents in 1977.
Favonius (1868-1877) and The Goodwood Cup of 1872
In addition to assembling one of the most unrivalled art collections of the time, Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild was a keen sportsman and thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. He bred Favonius and named the horse after the Greek god Zepher the mild west wind that brought the on-set of spring. For his first racing season in 1871 the horse won £5,900 prize money. The horse then raced the Ascot Gold Cup, the Alexandra Plate and finally in July, the Goodwood Cup. The Goodwood Cup was one of Favonius's best races. He horse overtook Albert Victor and Verdure 'coming away in grand style' and 'won very easily by ten lengths' ("English Turf: Goodwood Races" Australian Town and Country Journal, 28 Sep 1872, p. 26).
The laboring stag strained full in view.
Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed,
Unmatched for courage, breath, and speed,
Fast on his flying traces came,
And all but won that desperate game
The west Sussex Journal
The Daily News (2 August 1872, Issue 8195) and The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent (29 July 1872, issue 5055) both describe the cup race and the West Sussex Journal describes the silver cup itself as ‘a spirited group from the manufactory of Hunt and Roskell’ (6 August 1872, p. 3e).
Mentmore and Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874)
Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874) formed one of the greatest art collections of the nineteenth century. The art collections at Mentmore prompted Lady Eastlake to comment: 'I do not believe that the Medici were ever so lodged at the height of their glory'. Mentmore was built between 1852 and 1854 by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild, who needed a house near to London and in close proximity to other Rothschild homes at Tring, Ascot, Aston Clinton and later Waddesdon and Halton House. The plans for the mansion imitated Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and were drawn up by the gardener turned architect Joseph Paxton, celebrated for his Crystal Palace, completed the year earlier. Sumptuously furnished with extraordinary works of art in every field, on his death in 1874, Baron Mayer left Mentmore and a fortune of some £2,000,000 to his daughter, Hannah de Rothschild. Four years later Hannah married Archibald Philip, 5th Earl of Rosebery, who added considerably to the collections assembled by his father-in-law and it remained intact until the dispersal of the contents in 1977.
Favonius (1868-1877) and The Goodwood Cup of 1872
In addition to assembling one of the most unrivalled art collections of the time, Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild was a keen sportsman and thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. He bred Favonius and named the horse after the Greek god Zepher the mild west wind that brought the on-set of spring. For his first racing season in 1871 the horse won £5,900 prize money. The horse then raced the Ascot Gold Cup, the Alexandra Plate and finally in July, the Goodwood Cup. The Goodwood Cup was one of Favonius's best races. He horse overtook Albert Victor and Verdure 'coming away in grand style' and 'won very easily by ten lengths' ("English Turf: Goodwood Races" Australian Town and Country Journal, 28 Sep 1872, p. 26).