MADELINE WYNDHAM (1845–1920) (ATTRIBUTED MAKER) THE 'SOULS' SPORTING MEDAL, 1902
MADELINE WYNDHAM (1845–1920) (ATTRIBUTED MAKER) THE 'SOULS' SPORTING MEDAL, 1902 enamel on copper, inscribed to front C/ EVAN, and inscribed verso CLOUDS/ EASTER 1902/ GOLF COMPETITION/ A.J. BALFOUR./ ELCHO. P.S.W./ O.LODGE.EGO/ EVAN, within the original silk-lined leather box (6.5cm diameter) Literature: Dakers C. Clouds: Biography of a Country House, Yale University Press, 1993, pp. 143-152 Note: The Souls, or 'The Gang' as they chose to call themselves before the name 'Souls' was coined in 1888 by Lord Charles Beresford, was initially made up of four aristocratic families; the Balfours, Lyttletons, Tennents and Wyndhams. Arthur Balfour was the leading light of the Souls, and as a set they rejected being grouped with other social cliques of the time such as The Marlborough House crowd, preferring rounds of golf and literary discussions to bridge and hunting. One of these sporting weekends was held at Clouds, the home of Percy and Madeline Wyndham, at Easter in 1902 and is the subject of the current lot. Percy Wyndham bought the Clouds estate in 1876, and he and Madeline set about demolishing the existing late eighteenth-century house and building a new one, designed by Philip Webb between 1881 and 1885 and decorated by Morris & Co. Madeline Wyndham was an artist in enamels, embroidery and watercolours, however from the mid-1890s she concentrated on enamelling. Madeline was closely associated with the enamellist Alexander Fisher and became one of his most talented pupils; she also used her influence to further his career. It was an expensive hobby and appealed more to aristocratic women, some of whom installed furnaces in their homes. Indeed, Fisher procured a furnace for Madeline from a Parisian firm and had it installed at Clouds in 1901, where this medal was probably fired. The participants in the Golf Competition at Easter 1902 are inscribed verso on the current lot - they are 'A.J. Balfour' (later to be Prime Minister); 'Elcho' (Lord Hugo Elcho,11th Earl of Wemyss & March); P.S.W. (Percy Wyndham); 'O. Lodge' (Sir Oliver Lodge); 'Ego' (Lord Hugo Elcho) and 'Evan' (Evan Charteris, presumably the winner).
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MADELINE WYNDHAM (1845–1920) (ATTRIBUTED MAKER) THE 'SOULS' SPORTING MEDAL, 1902 enamel on copper, inscribed to front C/ EVAN, and inscribed verso CLOUDS/ EASTER 1902/ GOLF COMPETITION/ A.J. BALFOUR./ ELCHO. P.S.W./ O.LODGE.EGO/ EVAN, within the original silk-lined leather box (6.5cm diameter) Literature: Dakers C. Clouds: Biography of a Country House, Yale University Press, 1993, pp. 143-152 Note: The Souls, or 'The Gang' as they chose to call themselves before the name 'Souls' was coined in 1888 by Lord Charles Beresford, was initially made up of four aristocratic families; the Balfours, Lyttletons, Tennents and Wyndhams. Arthur Balfour was the leading light of the Souls, and as a set they rejected being grouped with other social cliques of the time such as The Marlborough House crowd, preferring rounds of golf and literary discussions to bridge and hunting. One of these sporting weekends was held at Clouds, the home of Percy and Madeline Wyndham, at Easter in 1902 and is the subject of the current lot. Percy Wyndham bought the Clouds estate in 1876, and he and Madeline set about demolishing the existing late eighteenth-century house and building a new one, designed by Philip Webb between 1881 and 1885 and decorated by Morris & Co. Madeline Wyndham was an artist in enamels, embroidery and watercolours, however from the mid-1890s she concentrated on enamelling. Madeline was closely associated with the enamellist Alexander Fisher and became one of his most talented pupils; she also used her influence to further his career. It was an expensive hobby and appealed more to aristocratic women, some of whom installed furnaces in their homes. Indeed, Fisher procured a furnace for Madeline from a Parisian firm and had it installed at Clouds in 1901, where this medal was probably fired. The participants in the Golf Competition at Easter 1902 are inscribed verso on the current lot - they are 'A.J. Balfour' (later to be Prime Minister); 'Elcho' (Lord Hugo Elcho,11th Earl of Wemyss & March); P.S.W. (Percy Wyndham); 'O. Lodge' (Sir Oliver Lodge); 'Ego' (Lord Hugo Elcho) and 'Evan' (Evan Charteris, presumably the winner).
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