About this design
This design admires the world famous 'Spirit of Ecstacy' ornament that adornes Rolls-Royce automobiles.
In the early 1900's Rolls-Royce was quickly becoming known as a must have for the wealthy.
At the time Rolls-Royce radiators were topped by a radiator cap (as would be expected) but a new fashion was sweeping the industry with 'hood ornaments' becoming popular, especially on the more expensive cars.
Rolls-Royce was prompted to design their own ornament and commisioned Charles Sykes to create one.
A few years earlier, Sykes had been asked to make a hood ornament for Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, who was a well connected MP and editor of 'The Car' magazine.
Montagu was having a secretive, passionate relationship at the time with his secretary Elanor Velasco Thornton, and he asked Sykes to use Elanor as a model for the ornament.
When asked by Rolls-Royce to design the ornament, Sykes was given a brief that seemed to fit very closely to the ornament made for Mantagu, so he used a slightly modified version of it.
Sykes himself referred to the Spirit as "A graceful little goddess, the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce motor car to revel in the freshness of the air and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies" ...that may be a little over the top, but it is a beautiful design that fits perfectly to the Rolls-Royce image and has become an icon over the years.