Rolls-Royce Kneeling Chrome Plated Bronze Spirit Of Ecstasy Car Mascot Signed Charles Sykes Dated January 1934
🔥 Rare 1934 Rolls-Royce Kneeling Spirit of Ecstasy Mascot – C. Sykes Signed 🔥
Introduction ✨
This listing is for a superb early 20th-century Art Deco original kneeling Spirit of Ecstasy Chrome Plated Bronze mascot, designed by the celebrated sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes and dated 26th January 1934. This is the highly desirable sporting version of the Rolls-Royce mascot: a wonderful small sculpture in its own right and a genuine rarity, especially in signed and dated form with strong, documented provenance.
Description & Form 🗽
The figure represents Eleanor, the famous model for the Rolls-Royce mascot, captured in a dramatic kneeling pose. She leans forward into the wind, arms swept back so that her flowing drapery billows out behind her like wings. The modelling is crisp and full of movement: folds of drapery swirl around her legs, the torso twists with forward momentum and the face retains a surprisingly sensitive expression for such a compact work. You can feel with your fingertips how finely the cloak thins at the edges and how Sykes has used rippling surfaces to suggest speed and air rushing past the body.
The mascot is cast in metal and finished in chrome plate, giving it a cold, weighty, engineered feel that perfectly suits the mechanical glamour of a Rolls-Royce radiator. It is the lower kneeling Spirit of Ecstasy that Rolls-Royce introduced in the 1930s for its new sporting saloons, providing drivers with a clearer view of the road over the bonnet. Sykes was commissioned again by the company to reinterpret his famous emblem and responded with this elegant, swept-back design, unveiled on 26 January 1934 – the very date incised on the base of this example.
The kneeling version was produced only for a relatively short period before the firm reverted to a reduced standing mascot, meaning correctly signed kneeling mascots are far less common on the market than later standing figures and modern service replacements.
Around the lower side of the base you can clearly read the incised signature “C. Sykes”, together with the date “26.1.34”. The underside retains the original threaded fitting, allowing the mascot to be re-mounted on a car if desired, but it also stands beautifully as a free-standing sculpture on a desk, shelf or display plinth. In the hand it has an excellent, concentrated weight, approximately 400 grams unwrapped, confirming the quality of the casting.
Dimensions 📏
In terms of size, this mascot stands at approximately 8.5 cm high. The base is roughly 3.2 cm wide, and the total length from outstretched foot to trailing edge of the cloak is about 10 cm. It is a compact, jewel-like object that still commands attention thanks to the sweep of the wings and the strong diagonal line of the pose.
Historical Background & The Love Story 💘
The Spirit of Ecstasy is traditionally associated with the secret love affair between John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu – early motoring pioneer and editor of The Car Illustrated – and his beautiful secretary Eleanor Velasco Thornton, who served as Sykes’s model and muse. Their relationship, conducted in the Edwardian era against a backdrop of strict social convention, has become part of Rolls-Royce legend and gives these mascots an emotional resonance far beyond their decorative and mechanical function.
Sykes first portrayed Eleanor as a private mascot called “The Whisper”, finger to lips to symbolise their hidden romance. He later refined the idea for Rolls-Royce as the standing Spirit of Ecstasy that became the company’s most famous emblem. In the 1930s he was commissioned again to create this lower, sporting kneeling version for the new streamlined saloons, giving drivers a clearer view of the road while preserving the sense of elegance, speed and “effortless” silent power that the Rolls-Royce name represents.
Rarity 💎
Original kneeling Spirits of Ecstasy such as this are widely recognised as scarce. They were produced for a relatively short span of years and were vulnerable to loss, damage and later replacement during a car’s life, unlike modern service mascots which can still be obtained. Signed, dated examples by Charles Sykes sit in a different league from generic accessory mascots: they are direct works by the original designer and relate closely to pieces in museum collections and major private holdings. This early 1934 example, signed and dated 26.1.34, is especially desirable to serious collectors.
Provenance 🧾
The piece comes with attractive and reassuring provenance. It was with a private Berkshire collector and was then acquired from a high-end classic-car auction held by the respected auction house Richard Edmonds in the southern shires, a name well known among serious motor and automobilia buyers.
This level of provenance – a genuine, signed mascot, first in a discerning private collection and then offered through a specialist classic-car auction rather than a casual market or general sale – is exactly what knowledgeable collectors look for when comparing examples and assessing authenticity and long-term value.
Collecting Context & Notable Collectors 🏛️
Collectors’ interest in Spirit of Ecstasy mascots is strong worldwide. Important private enthusiasts and marque specialists have assembled substantial groups of Sykes mascots over the decades, and notable collections have been sold through international auction houses, where sets of vintage Spirits – including kneeling versions – have achieved impressive prices. This underlines the desirability of these diminutive sculptures in their own right, quite apart from the cars to which they were once attached.
Museums such as the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu display early Sykes mascots, including The Whisper and various Spirit of Ecstasy variants, treating them as works of sculpture as much as emblems of the marque. Owning a signed, dated kneeling example places the buyer in distinguished company alongside these private collectors, dealers and institutions, and offers the opportunity to add a museum-grade object to a personal collection or interior.
Why You'll Love It ❤️
✅ A perfect blend of beauty, engineering and story: an Art Deco design icon, directly linked to Rolls-Royce’s golden age and the romantic legend of Eleanor Thornton.
✅ Ideal as a display piece for your desk, study or showroom, bringing instant heritage luxury and a real conversation starter without needing the car present.
✅ Exactly what serious automobilia collectors look for: early kneeling version, signed and dated by C. Sykes, with respected Richard Edmonds auction provenance and attractive, honest patina.
Condition ⚙️
Condition is best described as good, honest and gently worn. The chrome retains an attractive soft sheen but shows the expected patina from age and use. There are small scuffs and scratches, scattered spots of light tarnish and oxidation, minor rust speckling and some ingrained dirt in the folds of the drapery and around the base. This is natural weathering that you would expect on a genuine period mascot and sits well with its age and character.
There are no obvious later repairs, no modern re-engraving of the signature or date and no harsh machine polishing that would have flattened the crispness of the modelling. The piece could be professionally detailed if a brighter, more mirror-like finish is preferred, but many collectors value the present patina as proof of authenticity and history. Prospective buyers are encouraged to examine the photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description.
