RCEWA – the Goodwood Cup by Edward Barnard & Sons Statement
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
RCEWA – The Goodwood Cup by Edward Barnard & Sons Statement of the Expert Adviser to the Secretary of State that the cup meets Waverley criteria two and three. Further Information The ‘Applicant’s statement’ and the ‘Note of Case History’ are available on the Arts Council Website: www.artscouncil.org.uk/reviewing-committee-case-hearings Please note that images and appendices referenced are not reproduced. Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) Statement of Expert Adviser to the Secretary of State That Case No 20 (2018-19) The Goodwood Racing Trophy by Edward Barnard & Sons modelled by Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1869 Meets Waverley criteria two and three The Object A monumental trophy jug cast from models supplied by the sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm, the tapering cylindrical barrel cast and chased in relief with figures (Figure 1). Marks: Maker’s mark of J EBW & J. for Edward, John and William Barnard & Sons and duty, sterling, leopard head, date letter O (1869-70) J.W.Benson, London, 1869 Inscribed: GOODWOOD/1869/WON BY/Baron Mayer /De Rothschild’s/ RESTITUTION/4 years old Height: 23 ½ “high (59.7 cm) Weight: 412 oz 13 dwt (excluding inscribed plinth) Condition: The contemporary description of the trophy in the Illustrated London News 1 August 1869 (Figure 2) describes the ‘figures being oxidised on a pearl-white background’. Very little of either the oxidation or pearl-white, (presumably frosted) finish remains. The cup has almost certainly been cleaned using silver dip without being removed from its base, as there are drip marks on the base which has damaged the ebonised finish (Figure 3a). Small areas of oxidation remain, mainly in the crevices of the design, such as under the table of the man doing the thimblerig game (Figure 3b). The cup does not appear to have been taken apart for cleaning, so it is possible that more of the original surface finish survives under the removable decorative elements, mainly the swags around the cover (Figure 3c) and foliage framing the lion feet (Figure 3d). Given the age of the object some loss of crispness in the design is to be expected, however due to the probable use of silver dip and the physical polishing required to remove the original oxidation, there has been more loss of fine detail. The original frosted background has been polished, possibly with a brass brush, as there are numerous scratches in the sky area of the design (Figure 3e). Provenance: The Goodwood racing trophy was commissioned from the retailer J.W.Benson, silversmith, watch and clockmaker of Old Bond Street, to serve as the trophy for the Goodwood Cup run for on 29 July 1869. It was won by Baron Mayer de Rothschild with his horse Restitution. The trophy remained in the Rothschild family by descent at Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, until sold by Sotheby’s 23 May 1977 at the celebrated Mentmore Sale (lot 1666). It was purchased by Edward Koopman of the London silver dealers Koopman brothers and sold to Mr and Mrs Halimi; in June 2018 it was purchased by Andrew Firth and subsequently by Butchoff, London. Historical Importance The high figurative relief cast after models by the sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm is copied from William Powell Frith’s celebrated painting Derby Day exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1858 (Figure 4). It proved so popular that a rail had to be put up to keep back the crowds. It presents a panorama of modern Victorian life, a previously unknown genre which Frith largely created in his earlier work, Life at the Seaside, Ramsgate Sands, 1854 (Royal Collection Trust). Frith was a firm believer in the spurious sciences of phrenology and social type, which considered that people's characters and social origins were visible in their physical features. Each character in Frith's picture is depicted to conform to these stereotypes, notably in the range of criminal and low-life types present. The range of characters has been captured in the trophy. On the left hand is the gambling-booth, with its sign board of ‘The Royal Reform Club’; the thimblerig table and the country bumpkin ‘more than half disposed to stake his money on the little pea, the young fellow who has just been so thoroughly cleaned out by the two rogues behind him, the man with the ‘C’rect card’ and the group of acrobats, the swells lounging round the carriage, and the servant preparing the luncheon on the grass’, including a prominent lobster. In the background are seen the drinking- booths, the course, the Grand Stand, and the usual enormous crowd. The group on the cover of 3 horses & jockeys is described as ‘The False Start’. The handle is formed as a branch of oak; festoons of oak are wreathed round the cover. The Goodwood Cup in the history of British horse racing Horse racing was established at Newmarket in the late 17th century attracting the patronage of King Charles II, who stayed at Palace House. The Jockey Club was founded in London in 1750 and soon relocated to Newmarket. In 1800, the 3rd Duke of Richmond established a new triangular racecourse on the Harroway near Goodwood, his country seat in West Sussex, which hosted an annual public event from 1802 where competitors included the Prince of Wales, later George IV. The Goodwood Cup was founded in 1812 and from 1814 was held annually in July; Glorious Goodwood remains a regular fixture in the British racing calendar. A new course was laid by the 5th Duke of Richmond in 1829 and Goodwood Races attracted the patronage of William IV. Both the 5th and 6th Dukes of Richmond were keenly engaged with the sport realizing spectacular wins in the 1820s and 1840s; the 6th Duke riding as his own jockey. i The Owner: Baron Mayer de Rothschild (1818-1874) (Figure 5) has a particularly strong connection with the history and development of British horse racing, being the first member of the English branch of the family to engage with the sport with which subsequent generations became closely associated. The Rothschild family French stud was established at Ferrières, outside Paris, in 1835, one of the oldest in France. Baron Mayer first registered racing colours in 1842 as amber with lilac sleeves but changed these a year later to dark blue with yellow cap still owned by the Rothschild family today.ii Baron Mayer started training his racehorses in Newmarket under the trainer Joseph Hayhoe in 1857, having transferred from Russley Park in Lambourn, Berkshire that year. The Baron acquired Palace House Mansion, Newmarket in the late 1860s and developed a highly successful partnership with Hayhoe, who trained the 1869 Goodwood winner Restitution there. Restitution won four races in an eighteen-race career between 1867 and 1869, winning at Newmarket in September 1868, at Ascot in June 1869 and Brighton in August 1869. On each occasion the jockey was Daley. Baron Mayer had built up a powerful stud at his Mentmore estate in Buckinghamshire, from 1843, sparing no expense to breed the best; it thus supplied him with a regular flow of winners. His most successful season in 1871 became known as ‘The Baron’s Year’ when he won four out of the five classic races. The racehorse Hannah, named after his daughter, won the 1,000 Guineas, the Oaks and the St Leger; one of his other horses Favonius won him The Derby. Favonius also went on, like Restitution, to win the 1872 Goodwood Cup. The significance of Baron Mayer’s racing career is attested to by the statue of his racehorse King Tom, Sire of Restitution, in the Mentmore grounds. His successes led to a popular saying amongst the race-going public ‘Follow the Baron’! He also enjoyed the distinction of having been the first Jewish member of the Jockey Club. In 1867, Baron Mayer de Rothschild purchased and improved Palace House, Newmarket, originally built for King Charles II, using the architect George Devey to extend the property. His commitment to the sport was inherited by the next generation of the Rothschild family. The Baron left the Palace House property to his wife when he died in 1874. She in turn left it to her daughter, Lady Hannah Rosebery. In 1878 Hannah took over responsibility for the Mentmore stud with her racing enthusiast husband, Lord Rosebery, later Prime Minister. Their son continued this role until 1974 when the stud was disbanded. The ongoing association with Goodwood is celebrated in circa 1886 painting by L.C.Dickenson The Lawn at Goodwood, which depicts a large group of race-goers including the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and the Earl of Rosebery and gives its name to the Goodwood Room at Waddesdon Manor where it is displayed. At Waddesdon, James de Rothschild continued the family engagement with the sport from 1922 to 1957 and the stud still flourishes today. By 1893 the Newmarket property had passed to Baron Mayer’s nephew, Leopold de Rothschild, one of the most popular members of the Jockey Club, who established the Southcourt stud near Leighton Buzzzard in 1879. During his racing career Leopold had 851 winnings with total prize money of £367,434. Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) often stayed with him at Newmarket. The 1903 Newmarket Rothschild Stable Yard, adjacent to Palace House, has recently been restored and now forms the centrepiece of the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art. The Design and Manufacture The description published in the Illustrated London News August 1869, notes the skill with which the modelling and chasing of the figures is rendered and comments on the fact that the figures are oxidised on a pearl-white (frosted) background which originally gave added depth and legibility to the sophisticated composition.