Vintage Rolls Royce Car Mascot ' Spirit Of Ecstacy’ Ornament/Paperweight
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:14668897 | Brand: Rolls-Royce |
| Featured Refinements: Vintage Car Mascot | Merchandise Theme: Cars |
Here for your consideration is an exquisite, genuine authentic, 'Spirit of Ecstasy' Rolls-Royce, Art Nouveau, sculpture/car mascot, ornament/paperweight, mounted on a circular tapered aluminium plinth, modelled with arms outstretched and curved body to display style, elegance and emphasise shape, complete with black velvet base.Please take time to look at all 12 photos, to fully appreciate the quality of detail and workmanship in this exquisite sculpture.It depicts a pr...ovocatively nubile young lady (Eleanor), mounted on an aluminium curved plinth. A fabulous, patinated silver chrome, Art Nouveau, sculpture, with magnificent intricate detailing. This lady has even been depicted and created with realistic ripples to enhance further movement and shape, that's the extent of the detail in this truly magical sculpture.Spirit of Ecstacy ...The Spirit of Ecstasy is the bonnet ornament on Rolls-Royce cars. It's in the form of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched and raised behind her. Billowing cloth runs from her arms to her back, resembling wings. The Spirit of Ecstasy, also called "Emily", "Silver Lady" or "Flying Lady", was designed by English sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes and carries with it a story about secret passion between John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, (second Baron Montagu of Beaulieu after 1905, a pioneer of the automobile movement, and editor of (The Car Illustrated magazine from 1902) and the model for the emblem, Eleanor Velasco Thornton. Eleanor also known as Thorn was John Walter's secretary, whom he fell in love with in 1902 when she worked for him on the motoring magazine. Their secret love was to remain hidden, limited to their circle of friends, for more than a decade. The reason for the secrecy was Eleanor's impoverished social and economic status, which was an obstacle to their love and also John Walter was married to Lady Cecil Victoria Constance Kerr.Eleanor died on 30 December 1915 when the SS Persia was torpedoed by a U-boat south of Crete. She had been accompanying Lord Montagu who had been directed to assume a command in India. He was thought to have been killed too, but survived and was saved after several days adrift in a life raft.The Whisper, precursor to the spirit of ecstasy ... When Montagu commissioned his friend, Charles Sykes, to sculpt a personal mascot for the bonnet of his 1910 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Charles Sykes chose Eleanor Thornton as his model. Charles Sykes originally crafted a figurine of her in fluttering robes, having placed one forefinger against her lips, to symbolise the secret of their love affair. The figurine was consequently named The Whisper. By 1910 personal mascots had become the fashion of the day. Claude Johnson, managing director of Rolls-Royce, was asked to commission a more dignified and graceful mascot. He again turned to Charles Sykes, a young artist friend and a graduate of London's Royal College of Art, to produce a mascot. It was again Miss Thornton whom he had in mind. Charles Sykes chose to modify The Whisper into a version similar to today's ‘The Spirit of Ecstasy’. He called this first model The Spirit of Speed. Later, Charles Sykes called it "A graceful little goddess". Claude Johnson devised the description of The Spirit of Ecstasy, he described how Charles Sykes had sought to convey the image of "the spirit of ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight .. she is expressing her keen enjoyment, with her arms outstretched and her sight fixed upon the distance."In February 1911 Charles Sykes presented to Rolls-Royce the "Spirit of Ecstasy", which was easily recognisable as being a variation on the theme of "The Whisper". The similarity was hardly coincidental because the model for both had been Miss Thornton. Although it seems unchanged, the mascot has had eleven main variations in its life. Modern Spirit of Ecstasy ... Today's Spirit of Ecstasy, from the 2003 Phantom model onward, stands at 3 inches and, for safety, is mounted on a spring-loaded mechanism designed to retract instantly into the radiator shell if struck from any direction. There is a button within the vehicle which can raise/lower the emblem when pressed. She can be made from highly polished stainless steel, stainless with 24-carat gold plating, or from illuminated frosted crystal - the latter two being optional extras. Aftermarket customised versions are also available, including those covered in a matte black paint or studded in diamonds.Dimensions as follows ...Height: 5.5 inches or 14 cm (mascot including plinth)Diameter: 2.3 inches or 6 cm (base)Height: 4.1 inches or 10.5 cm (mascot)Height: 1.6 inches or 4 cm (plinth)Weight: 1lb or 455 gramsIf you're a car mascot collector then this is a must-have, quality piece to add to any collection and if you're a first-time purchaser then you won't go far wrong starting a collection with a piece like this. It's just so exquisite and will be a real talking point, amongst your friends. As you're probably already aware, interesting car memorabilia has already become hugely collectable.This fabulous, iconic car sculpture is in lovely condition with no damage, dents, or scratches and very little chrome loss, trust me, whoever purchases this, will not be disappointed, because it's a magnificent Art Nouveau car sculpture with all the age-related patina that you'd expect, commensurate with its age.A very well defined, stunning sculpture, items this good, don't come up for sale that often. Interesting car mascots are appreciating in value and have become so very collectable. I've only got one, once it's gone .... it's gone, and if there's one thing I've learned about antiques/collectables when items are of quality and extremely rare he who hesitates usually ends up losing out. A stunning Art Nouveau sculpture that would make a superb gift ... ideal as a paperweight !!This beautiful iconic car mascot ornament/sculpture will be sent out recorded, special delivery with insurance.Please note, all my international postal charges are only estimates and will be confirmed and altered up or down when I know the destination to where items are being sent. Please also note, I only charge actual costs of postage and packaging with insurance, no more.Please feel free to look at my other items.
