Trophée de course en vermeil pour le Grand Prix Inaugural de Paris, apparemment sans poinçon d'orfèvre, Paris, 1863

les cartouches gravés Grand Prix de Paris MDCCCLXIII and OFFERT PAR S.M. L'EMPEREUR, around the body WON BY THE RANGER WITH £4000 ADDED BY THE CITY OF PARIS

cast, shields inscribed Grand Prix de Paris MDCCCLXIII and OFFERT PAR S.M. EMPEREUR, around the body WON BY THE RANGER WITH £4000 ADDED BY THE CITY OF PARIS

Henry Savile puis par descendance au propriétaire actuel.

Associated literature: Henri Bouilhet, L'Orfèvrerie Française aux XVIII et XIX e Siècles, Paris, 1912, vol. III, p. 62

A few dents and a split to edge of cover, some light wear to gilding, overall good condition
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Le premier Grand Prix de Paris fut organisé à l'hippodrome de Longchamp le 31 mai 1863, son but étant d'encourager l'élevage de chevaux en France, en proposant les meilleurs chevaux du pays en compétition avec les meilleurs chevaux étrangers. Cette coupe, que les journaux étrangers n'ont eu cesse de vanter, fut remportée ainsi que les 4000 francs de récompense par Henri Savile, propriétaire du cheval Ranger, dont un autre cheval, Cremone, fut vainqueur du Grand Prix en 1872.

L'absence de poinçon de maître ne nous permet pas d'affirmer l'auteur de cette coupe. Sa qualité et l'importance de cette commission permet d'envisager les « meilleurs orfèvres de l'époque » selon Bouilhet, tels Lebrun, Duveau, Duponchel, Odiot, Froment-Meurice, Christofle, mais aussi les frères Fannière, connus pour leurs créations de style Renaissance, présentées à Londres en 1862. Ces derniers reçurent également de l'empereur la commande d'une autre coupe du Grand Prix de Paris en 1867.

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The Morning Post, London Wednesday 3 June 1863 records `...The Ranger and Le Touquet shot ahead, the latter inside and from that moment the race lay between those two. They both came on at a splendid pace accompanied by shouts of `Ranger, Ranger' with counter cries from partisans of the French mare...the Ranger who until then had been leading by only a neck increased his distance, and passed the judges chair a winner by a length' In such a way the newspaper described the finish of the inaugural race of the Grand Prix de Paris, of May 31, 1863. This cup now offered was the prize promised in a wager announced by the Emperor the previous summer. In addition to this cup, he announced that a prize of 4000 Francs would be awarded to the winner, of which £2000 would come from the City of Paris, the rest equally from the 5 principal French railway companies. It was run at Longchamps over 3000 metres and its purpose was to encourage French horsebreeding by pitting for the first time the best of the home-bred three-year-olds against the best foreign competition.  The Ranger was owned by Henry Savile whose horse Cremorne won the Grand Prix again in 1872. In another contemporary newspaper the cup itself is described in full

`It is a handsome silver vase, about 26 inches high, in the Renaissance style...the lid is surmounted by a figure of a child distributing wreaths and the handles are attached to the neck by lions' heads and to the body of the vase by scrolls with horses's heads. On the sides are two escocheons-the one bearing the words "Grand Prix de Paris 1863" and the other "Offert par S.M L'Empereur" I.E.A Dolby, The Journal of the Household Brigade for the Year 1863, London, 1863, p. 102.

Due to the lack of a maker's mark it is not possible to identify the cup's maker for certain. The quality of the item and the importance of the commission would suggest one of the great producers of the time, what Bouilhet called les orfevres de l'epoque Lebrun, Duveau, Duponchel, Odiot Froment Meurice, Christofle. The Fanniere brothers should also be considered. By 1863 they are known to have created items in Renaissance style, exhibiting such work in London in 1862; they also made a vase for presentation by the Emperor to another winner of the Grand Prix de Paris, in 1867