Spirit of Ecstasy

Have you ever taken a close look at the "Silver lady" on the front hood of a Rolls Royce?

        

It is one of the most exquisite car mascots in the world.The miniature sculpture is the work of Charles Robinson Sykes,but who was his beautiful subject???

The Story
It starts with John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu,2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu,a pioneer of the Automobile Movement and the Editor of The Car magazine from 1902, who wanted an appropriate mascot for his Rolls Royce commissioned  the sculptor,Charles Robinson Sykes to design the mascot.

The Spirit of Ecstasy,also called "Emily","" Silver Lady or "Flying Lady" was designed as the hood ornament by Sykes to John Walter and the lady who posed for the sculpture is Eleanor Velasco Thornton.Eleanor was John Walter's secretary,whom John loved secretly and their love remained hidden,limited to their circle of friends,for more than a decade.The reason for the secrecy was Eleanor's social and economic status.
                                    



The Whisper
When Montagu Commissioned Sykes to sculpt a personal mascot to his Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, Sykes chose Eleanor Thornton as his model.Sykes crafted a figurine of her pressing a finger against her lips-to symbolize the secrets of their love.This figurine was named as The Whisper.
                                                                                                                                                                                 

 The very first Rolls-Royce cars did not feature radiator mascots,they simply carried the Rolls Royce Emblem.This,however,was not  enough for their customers who believed that such a prestigious vehicle should have its own luxurious mascot,and by 1910 personal mascots had became the fashion of the day.Rolls Royce were concerned to note that some owners were affixing "inappropriate " ornaments to their cars.Claude Johnson,then managing director of  Rolls Royce Motor Cars,was asked to see the commissioning of something more suitably dignified and graceful.He turned to Charles Sykes to produce a mascot which would adorn all future Rolls Royce cars and become generic to the marque,with the specifications that it should convey "the spirit of the Rolls-Royce,namely,speed with silence,absence of vibration,the mysterious harnessing of great energy and a beautiful living organism of superb grace...."  

The Spirit of Speed
Sykes' brief from Claude Johnson  had been to evoke the spirit of mythical beauty,Nike,whose graceful image was admired in The Louvre,but Sykes  was not impressed.He felt a more feminine representation might be apt.It was again Miss Thornton whom he had in mind.Sykes chose to modify 'The Whisper' into a version similar to today's;'The Spirit of Ecstasy'.He called this first model,The Spirit of Speed.He presented the mascot to the company in February in1911.

                                                                  Goddess Nike

The Spirit of Ecstasy
After many alterations to the Spirit of Speed,today's Spirit of Ecstasy stands at 3 inches mounted on a spring based mechanism.There is a button within the vehicle which can retract/extend the emblem when pressed.She can be made of highly polished stainless steel,sterling silver or 24 carat gold.

                                            

The Spirit of Ecstasy currently stands on all Rolls-Royces except on the first Phantom IV delivered to the the Princess Elizabeth in 1950 and on Princess Margaret's 1954 Phantom IV.