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Lot Essay
The present example, called the Stewards' Cup, was one of three major trophies presented to the winners of the "Glorious Goodwood" races of 1865. The Illustrated London News, on 3 August 1865, included a rendering of the present example, with the caption "Robin Hood Winding the Morte." The ILN describes the "spirited and lifelike" Robin Hood, "sounding a blast of triumph...for the information of their belated comrades in the chase."
Designed by Harrison Weir (1824-1906), a distinguished naturalist painter and illustrator, and modeled by W. Spencer, this trophy is part of a tradition of oversized, highly sculptural Victorian silver horse racing trophies. For example, the Royal Hunt Cup, Ascot, 1884, also depicts Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men following a stag hunt. It is illustrated in the Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989, p. 230, no. 178.
Designed by Harrison Weir (1824-1906), a distinguished naturalist painter and illustrator, and modeled by W. Spencer, this trophy is part of a tradition of oversized, highly sculptural Victorian silver horse racing trophies. For example, the Royal Hunt Cup, Ascot, 1884, also depicts Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men following a stag hunt. It is illustrated in the Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, 1989, p. 230, no. 178.