The Spirit of Ecstasy’s association with Rolls-Royce dates back to 1909, when a tailor-made sculpture was commissioned by the British politician and automobile enthusiast John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, as a personalized mascot for his own Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost.
Lord Montagu was not only the first person to drive a motor car into the yard of the Houses of Parliament, but is also credited with introducing King Edward VII to motoring. He now sought out the skill of his friend and sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes for the purpose of designing this ornament sculpture.
Sykes designed a figurine of a woman standing on one foot, gown flowing behind her, and holding one finger to her lips as if keeping a secret. This was purposefully symbolic, as the model Sykes used for the figure was a lady by the name of Eleanor Velasco Thornton, who had not only become the secretary to Lord Montagu in 1905, but with whom he also had a secret love affair at the time. Although Lord Montagu had been married to Lady Cecil Kerr since 1889, he had fallen in love with Eleanor by 1900.
According to Lord Montagu himself, it was truly love at first sight. Their secret affair resulted in the birth of a daughter, Joan, whom Eleanor gave up for adoption. For more than a decade, knowledge of the affair was limited to only a handful of close friends.
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26 июл 2024
