Lot Essay
The Stewards:
Henry, 3rd Earl of Darlington (d.1792) married Margaret (d.1800), sister of James, 1st Earl of Lonsdale in 1757. He was educated at Cambridge and entered the army in 1747. He later became Whig M.P. for Downton from 1749 until 1753 and co. Durham 1753 to 1758. He was also Lord Lieutenant for co. Durham 1763 to 1882 and Master of the Jewel House 1763 to 1792. His son William, 4th Earl of Darlington (d. 1842) was created Marquess and then Duke of Cleveland
Sir Laurence Dundas, 1st Bt., P.C. (d.1781) was the father of Thomas Dundas Esq., who had commissioned the Adam designs for the Richmond Cup. As a merchant contractor and supplier to the army he made a vast fortune which he put to use employing the finest architects and craftsmen to design and furnish his houses.
The Race:
First run in 1757, the Richmond Gold Cup was won by the Duke of Cleveland's Dainty Davy for the first five years. The race was held on land owned by Sir Laurence Dundas Bt., one of the two Stewards for the 1766 race. The race continued to be held until 1858, by which time Richmond had lost its original significance as a racecourse. The course finally closed in 1891.
W. Pick, An Authentic Historical Racing Calendar of all the Plates Sweepstakes, Matches & etc., York, p. 105 records that the race was held on Thursday, 4th September over a four mile course. The Gold Cup with the value of £80 was contested by a field of six horses. Lord Rockingham's brown filly Shadow was by no means the favourite and Pick lists the betting for the race and the result.
'5 to 4 the field against Royal George, the same against Dux, 3 to 1 against Silvio, and 25 to 1 against Shadow, who won with difficulty.'
Lord Rockingham's brown filly, Shadow, by Snap, 4 years old 1
Sir C. Bunbury's Bay Horse, Dux, by Match'em, 5 years old 2
Mr Hutton's brown horse, Silvio, by Cade, " " 3
Mr Dundas's (Coulson's) bay horse, Royal George, 6 years old 4
Duke of Cleveland's bay horse, Meaburn, by Mirza, 5 years old 5
Hon F. Charteris's bay mare, Ann, by Regulus, 6 years old 6'
With Shadow as a rank outsider, it must have been a well fought contest, as Pick notes with the comment on the performance of Shadow that she 'won with difficulty'. The bay mare Ann is not recorded on the 'antique' style frieze of the horse race applied on the body of the cup as the frieze depicts only five horses. Shadow, foaled in 1762, was by Snap out of Octavian by Young Standard, and despite distinguished parentage this would appear to be her only win. She later became a broodmare.
Robert Adam and the Richmond Cups:
Robert Adam was the natural choice for Thomas Dundas Esq. (d. 1820), later 1st Baron Dundas, to choose to design a fashionable 'Gold' Cup as the prize for the highlight of the Richmond Races, held in early September on his father's estate. Adam had been working for Thomas' father, Sir Laurence Dundas, 1st Bt. (d.1781), since 1763. He was to provide designs for the family seat in Hertfordshire, Moor Park, the London House in Arlington Street and for the fabulous suite of sofas and armchairs for the gallery at Arlington Street, part of which were sold, Dundas Masterpieces, Christie's London, 3 July 1997, lots 100 and 101.
The Richmond Race cups form part of the select group of silver, the designs for which can be traced in the Adam drawings purchased by the architect Sir John Soane in 1833, now preserved in The Sir John Soane Museum, Lincoln's Inn, London. Out of the nine thousand drawings there are some 114 sheets with designs for silver. Although a small part of his output, they represent some of the most costly objects commissioned by Adam's patrons. Michael Snodin notes in his article Adam Silver Reassessed, The Apollo, January, 1997, p.17, that a high proportion of the designs could be traced to just eleven different patrons, significantly his principal clients, the Dundas family, the Lords Bute and Scarsdale, the Duke of Northumberland and Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn. The high price paid for plate at the time can be illustrated by a comparison between the Richmond Cup and the Dundas Armchairs, mentioned above. The set of eight armchairs designed by Adam and executed by Thomas Chippendale cost Sir Laurence Dundas £160 in 1765 against the value of £80 for the Richmond Cup.
Adam produced two designs for the cup. The first, an unused design, had an awkward arrangement with standing lion handles forming part of the cover with their feet resting on the rim and their front legs resting on the domed top. This form appears to have been rejected as impractical for a race prize, which would have been intended to have been drunk from in celebration.
Since the Renaissance the classical vase had been seen as the symbol of antiquity. The Roman engravers Agostino Veneziano and Marcantonio published their influential engravings of classical vases 'in the manner of the ancient Roman sculptors' in 1530 and 1531. Derived from often fragmentary remains, the forms were a re-interpretataion of the antique. Copies of the engravings, made by Enea Vico in 1543, went further, with numerous Mannerist additions creating forms unknown in antiquity. These designs were quickly disseminated across Europe, their influence evident in a silver ewer made in London in 1583-4 now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated in P. Glanville, Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England, London, 1990, pp.464-465.
The lion handle in the first Adam design appears in a Vico design of 1543 and later in a composite engraving of five vases from various sources depicted in an arcadian landscape, possibly executed by C. C. Cimmert, and illustrated in Joachim von Sandart, Der Tentschen Academie, Nuremberg, 1679, vol. II. The evolution of the female herm handle used in the executed design can be traced back to an Agostino engraving, where the handle is drawn headless. Vico copied the design but 'repaired' the handle with the addition of a head. The form further appears in Jean Le Pautre's Oeuvres D'Architecture, Paris, 1751, vol. III, which is almost certainly the source for the Adam design. It is known that Adam had a copy of Le Pautre drawings from the sale of the Adam Library held at Christie's, 20 May 1818, lot 17.
The overall form of the vase derives from William Kent's design for the Pelham Cup made in 1736, issued as a print in 1744. Although taken from classical stone vases, the form with a wide evereted rim owes much to the engravings after the vases painted on the facade of the Palazzo Milesi in Rome by the decorative painter Polidoro da Caravaggio circa 1527. They were heavily distorted to allow the viewer to read them correctly from below. However, when engraved by Cherubino Alberti in 1582, they were shown straight on with no allowance made for the altered perspective. Numerous copies were made and later re-published in Paris and London in the 18th century. Strong parallels can also be drawn with the ormulu candelabra designed by James 'Athenian' Stuart for Lord Spencer, illustrated in M. Snodin, Neo-Classicism and the Evolution of Adam's Vase Designs in Silver, The Antique Collector, August, 1972, p.193. The development of the form, with the spool-shaped cover, can be seen in Adam's designs for General Francis Lascelles produced in 1764. The cameo-like cartouches of standing and running horses used by Adam on the front and back of the cups are repeated on many other cups and are thought to have been derived from print sources perhaps after works by Stubbs or Sartorius. Later in 1771 Matthew Boulton confirms that such a practice was usual for silversmiths with the request to his London agent to 'go down to Boydell and buy 2 or 3 prints of running horses with Jockies on their backs the best you can, we want 'em to model from'. Adam used the basic design for many of the other cups he produced, but often with slight changes as illustrated by the 1769 Richmond Cup, lot 19.
Henry, 3rd Earl of Darlington (d.1792) married Margaret (d.1800), sister of James, 1st Earl of Lonsdale in 1757. He was educated at Cambridge and entered the army in 1747. He later became Whig M.P. for Downton from 1749 until 1753 and co. Durham 1753 to 1758. He was also Lord Lieutenant for co. Durham 1763 to 1882 and Master of the Jewel House 1763 to 1792. His son William, 4th Earl of Darlington (d. 1842) was created Marquess and then Duke of Cleveland
Sir Laurence Dundas, 1st Bt., P.C. (d.1781) was the father of Thomas Dundas Esq., who had commissioned the Adam designs for the Richmond Cup. As a merchant contractor and supplier to the army he made a vast fortune which he put to use employing the finest architects and craftsmen to design and furnish his houses.
The Race:
First run in 1757, the Richmond Gold Cup was won by the Duke of Cleveland's Dainty Davy for the first five years. The race was held on land owned by Sir Laurence Dundas Bt., one of the two Stewards for the 1766 race. The race continued to be held until 1858, by which time Richmond had lost its original significance as a racecourse. The course finally closed in 1891.
W. Pick, An Authentic Historical Racing Calendar of all the Plates Sweepstakes, Matches & etc., York, p. 105 records that the race was held on Thursday, 4th September over a four mile course. The Gold Cup with the value of £80 was contested by a field of six horses. Lord Rockingham's brown filly Shadow was by no means the favourite and Pick lists the betting for the race and the result.
'5 to 4 the field against Royal George, the same against Dux, 3 to 1 against Silvio, and 25 to 1 against Shadow, who won with difficulty.'
Lord Rockingham's brown filly, Shadow, by Snap, 4 years old 1
Sir C. Bunbury's Bay Horse, Dux, by Match'em, 5 years old 2
Mr Hutton's brown horse, Silvio, by Cade, " " 3
Mr Dundas's (Coulson's) bay horse, Royal George, 6 years old 4
Duke of Cleveland's bay horse, Meaburn, by Mirza, 5 years old 5
Hon F. Charteris's bay mare, Ann, by Regulus, 6 years old 6'
With Shadow as a rank outsider, it must have been a well fought contest, as Pick notes with the comment on the performance of Shadow that she 'won with difficulty'. The bay mare Ann is not recorded on the 'antique' style frieze of the horse race applied on the body of the cup as the frieze depicts only five horses. Shadow, foaled in 1762, was by Snap out of Octavian by Young Standard, and despite distinguished parentage this would appear to be her only win. She later became a broodmare.
Robert Adam and the Richmond Cups:
Robert Adam was the natural choice for Thomas Dundas Esq. (d. 1820), later 1st Baron Dundas, to choose to design a fashionable 'Gold' Cup as the prize for the highlight of the Richmond Races, held in early September on his father's estate. Adam had been working for Thomas' father, Sir Laurence Dundas, 1st Bt. (d.1781), since 1763. He was to provide designs for the family seat in Hertfordshire, Moor Park, the London House in Arlington Street and for the fabulous suite of sofas and armchairs for the gallery at Arlington Street, part of which were sold, Dundas Masterpieces, Christie's London, 3 July 1997, lots 100 and 101.
The Richmond Race cups form part of the select group of silver, the designs for which can be traced in the Adam drawings purchased by the architect Sir John Soane in 1833, now preserved in The Sir John Soane Museum, Lincoln's Inn, London. Out of the nine thousand drawings there are some 114 sheets with designs for silver. Although a small part of his output, they represent some of the most costly objects commissioned by Adam's patrons. Michael Snodin notes in his article Adam Silver Reassessed, The Apollo, January, 1997, p.17, that a high proportion of the designs could be traced to just eleven different patrons, significantly his principal clients, the Dundas family, the Lords Bute and Scarsdale, the Duke of Northumberland and Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn. The high price paid for plate at the time can be illustrated by a comparison between the Richmond Cup and the Dundas Armchairs, mentioned above. The set of eight armchairs designed by Adam and executed by Thomas Chippendale cost Sir Laurence Dundas £160 in 1765 against the value of £80 for the Richmond Cup.
Adam produced two designs for the cup. The first, an unused design, had an awkward arrangement with standing lion handles forming part of the cover with their feet resting on the rim and their front legs resting on the domed top. This form appears to have been rejected as impractical for a race prize, which would have been intended to have been drunk from in celebration.
Since the Renaissance the classical vase had been seen as the symbol of antiquity. The Roman engravers Agostino Veneziano and Marcantonio published their influential engravings of classical vases 'in the manner of the ancient Roman sculptors' in 1530 and 1531. Derived from often fragmentary remains, the forms were a re-interpretataion of the antique. Copies of the engravings, made by Enea Vico in 1543, went further, with numerous Mannerist additions creating forms unknown in antiquity. These designs were quickly disseminated across Europe, their influence evident in a silver ewer made in London in 1583-4 now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated in P. Glanville, Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England, London, 1990, pp.464-465.
The lion handle in the first Adam design appears in a Vico design of 1543 and later in a composite engraving of five vases from various sources depicted in an arcadian landscape, possibly executed by C. C. Cimmert, and illustrated in Joachim von Sandart, Der Tentschen Academie, Nuremberg, 1679, vol. II. The evolution of the female herm handle used in the executed design can be traced back to an Agostino engraving, where the handle is drawn headless. Vico copied the design but 'repaired' the handle with the addition of a head. The form further appears in Jean Le Pautre's Oeuvres D'Architecture, Paris, 1751, vol. III, which is almost certainly the source for the Adam design. It is known that Adam had a copy of Le Pautre drawings from the sale of the Adam Library held at Christie's, 20 May 1818, lot 17.
The overall form of the vase derives from William Kent's design for the Pelham Cup made in 1736, issued as a print in 1744. Although taken from classical stone vases, the form with a wide evereted rim owes much to the engravings after the vases painted on the facade of the Palazzo Milesi in Rome by the decorative painter Polidoro da Caravaggio circa 1527. They were heavily distorted to allow the viewer to read them correctly from below. However, when engraved by Cherubino Alberti in 1582, they were shown straight on with no allowance made for the altered perspective. Numerous copies were made and later re-published in Paris and London in the 18th century. Strong parallels can also be drawn with the ormulu candelabra designed by James 'Athenian' Stuart for Lord Spencer, illustrated in M. Snodin, Neo-Classicism and the Evolution of Adam's Vase Designs in Silver, The Antique Collector, August, 1972, p.193. The development of the form, with the spool-shaped cover, can be seen in Adam's designs for General Francis Lascelles produced in 1764. The cameo-like cartouches of standing and running horses used by Adam on the front and back of the cups are repeated on many other cups and are thought to have been derived from print sources perhaps after works by Stubbs or Sartorius. Later in 1771 Matthew Boulton confirms that such a practice was usual for silversmiths with the request to his London agent to 'go down to Boydell and buy 2 or 3 prints of running horses with Jockies on their backs the best you can, we want 'em to model from'. Adam used the basic design for many of the other cups he produced, but often with slight changes as illustrated by the 1769 Richmond Cup, lot 19.