Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Sotheby's Australia
• Sale Name:
  Fine Asian, Australian & European Arts & Deign
• Sale Date:
  29 Jul 2014 ~ 6pm
• Lot #:
  33
• Lot Description:
  The 1886 South Australian Coursing Club Waterloo Cup, By Henry Steiner 1835-1914 Adelaide, Circa 1882-1883
  of volute krater form, on a circular stepped bell form base, the body supported on a waisted stem surmounted by a finely chased acanthus leaf collar, the body inscribed 'SOUTH AUSTRALIAN COURSING CLUB / WATERLOO CUP, 1886 / A Gift of the President Mr. R. Barr Smith / WON BY / MR. [HORACE] HANDEL ALLEN'S NS. R.W.B. VIOLET / BY KING OF THE HILLS - FLY' gadrooned to the shoulder from which emanate two gadrooned volute handles centred by rosettes, flanking a waisted neck, stamped 'H. STEINER', 'ADELAIDE', with crown, queen's head and lion passant to base
  35 cm high
• Provenance:
  August Brunkhorst 1846-1919 Adelaide (retailer); The John and Jan Altmann Collection, Melbourne
• Exhibited:
  Australian Silver 1800-1900, Lindesay, Darling Point, Sydney, 1973, no. 97; The J. & J. Altmann Collection of Australian Silver, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2 September - 1 November 1981, no. 33 (illustrated); Australian Decorative Arts 1788-1900, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 5 November 1988 - 5 February 1989"
• References:
  South Australian Coursing Club', The South Australian Advertiser, Adelaide, 20 January 1886, p. 7; The South Australian Weekly Chronicle, Adelaide, 1 May 1886, p. 14; 'South Australian Coursing Club: Buckland Park Meet - May 19, 20 and 21, 1886', The South Australian Register, Adelaide, 22 May 1886, p. 7; 'Sporting', The South Australian Register, Adelaide, 2 June 1886, p. 7; John Hawkins, Australian Silver 1800 - 1900, National Trust of Australia (New South Wales) Women's Committee, Sydney, 197
• Notes:
  This handsome greyhound coursing cup is a rarity amidst the decorative trophies and characteristic of late 19th century presentation silver, with their complex ensembles of Aborigines, tree ferns, kangaroos, and emu eggs. In contrast to such elaborate Victorian confections, the cup displays a simpler taste, taking the form of a classical Greek volute-krater. (1) Weighing a full 45 oz., it was described in a contemporary newspaper as 'massive though of chaste proportions'; (2) it is in fact an enlarged version of a similar gold cup presented by Robert Barr Smith to the Adelaide Hunt Club in 1885. Barr Smith, who also donated this trophy, was a leading figure in the colony's pastoral, mining, shipping and finance industries, a philanthropist and a sportsman. In addition to various equine enthusiasms, he was also a 'lover of the leash' (3), and was President of the South Australian Coursing Club, (though in the 1886 Waterloo Cup his own dog, Valentine Vox, was defeated in the first tie). From its stamps, it seems the cup was designed and manufactured by Henry Steiner (1835-1914), but it was retailed by August Ludwig Brunkhorst (1846-1919), another well-known Adelaide German silversmith, who took over Steiner's business and stock-in-trade when the latter sold up in 1884. (4) It was formerly owned by the late John and Jan Altmann, much of whose collection of Australian silver was presented to the National Gallery of Victoria through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. We gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance of John McPhee in cataloguing this work.
• Estimate:
  A$15,000 - 20,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Silver

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.