Spirit of Ecstasy

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Spirit of Ecstasy kneeling

Spirit of Ecstasy is the name of the hood ornament that has adorned the cap of the water cooler of a Rolls-Royce since 1911 . She is also commonly called Emily .

history

On February 6, 1911, the first version was mounted on a Rolls-Royce. It was also the first figure cast from metal that was given in series to a car brand in England. The spiritual model may have been a statue of the goddess Nike of Samothrace . The figure shows a woman with a dress blowing in the wind (and not - as is sometimes assumed - a woman with wings). The creator of the first figure was the sculptor Charles Robert Sykes . His model was Eleanor Thornton , the secretary and lover of the British nobleman John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu . Today the Rolls-Royce hood ornament is mistakenly called "Emily".

At the request of Lord Montagu, Charles Sykes designed a hood ornament for his private Rolls-Royce, which the artist called The Whisper ("The Whisper"). The Lord's idea became popular and prevailed. Lord Montagu then gave Sykes the order from Rolls-Royce to design a hood ornament. Again, Eleanor Thornton modeled it, and accordingly the result was very similar to The Whisper . Originally the character was supposed to be called Spirit of Speed , but the name came across to Rolls-Royce as an un-English boast. Therefore, the hood ornament was called the Spirit of Ecstasy ("Spirit of Rapture").

Henry Royce himself didn't like hood ornaments. In his eyes they were fashionable frills that disrupted the lines of his cars. The order for the design was awarded when he was not at the company due to illness. There was usually no hood ornament on his personal Rolls-Royce.

Executions

At the end of the 1920s, the superstructures had become lower and lower. Rolls-Royce has now commissioned a kneeling version of the figure, which in turn modeled Charles Sykes. This kneeling version no longer disrupted the driver's field of vision as permanently. The kneeling version was used until after the Second World War - with the Silver Wraith and as the last model with the Silver Dawn . Then the standing version was used again, but in a smaller form compared to the original.

production method

Up until 1950, each specimen was made using the lost wax technique, in which the figure was first modeled from wax, then covered with a heat-tolerant coat, which is then filled with metal after the wax has been melted out. Each figure is unique . Sykes used to sign every model himself even in the first few years. Early versions therefore have a high collector's value. Since the figure was often stolen by thieves, it disappears in newer models in the vehicle frame when the vehicle is stopped. It can also be purchased individually as a collector's item.

Web links

Commons : Spirit of Ecstasy  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SPIEGEL online: 100 years of "Spirit of Ecstasy". Accessed on Feb. 4, 2011