ROLLS-ROYCE CELEBRATES THE 110th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPIRIT OF ECSTASY OR FLYINGB LADY MASCOT ON THE BONNET OF EVERY ROLLS-ROYCE. A TRADITION SINCE 6 FEBRUARY 1911!
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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the 110th anniversary of the Spirit of Ecstasy – its official emblem. The intellectual property of the design was registered on 6 February 1911, establishing a defining feature of the Rolls-Royce brand and one of the most famous, iconic and desirable symbols of luxury in the world.
Almost unaltered throughout her long and storied life, the Spirit of Ecstasy graces the bonnet of every Rolls-Royce motor car built at the Home of Rolls-Royce, Goodwood.
Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (1866 –1929) was one of Britain’s motoring pioneers. As founder and editor of The Car Illustrated magazine, he employed a highly respected artist and illustrator, Charles Robinson Sykes (1875-1950). In 1909, Lord Montagu commissioned Sykes (who was also a sculptor) to create a mascot for his Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost.
Sykes produced a bronze statue of a young woman in fluttering robes, which he named ‘The Whisperer’.
Soon, other owners were having their own ornaments made, much to the displeasure of Rolls Royce General Managing Director, Claude Johnson. In 1911, Johnson instructed Sykes to design an ‘official’ mascot to protect the company’s products from these ‘unsightly’ additions.
The ever-practical Sykes subtly reinterpreted ‘The Whisper’ and created what became known as the Spirit of Ecstasy. It became both a defining feature of the Rolls-Royce brand and one of the most famous, iconic and desirable emblems in the world.
Originally a statuesque seven inches (c. 18cm) tall, the Spirit of Ecstasy today stands a more petite three ¾ inches (9.5cm) high.
Many of Sykes’ wonderful designs for advertisements and magazine covers are conserved in London’s world-famous Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). That foundational link with the world of fine art lives on, with the Spirit of Ecstasy serving as a muse and source of inspiration for the Rolls-Royce brand.
The marque’s longstanding relationship with the art community has been further strengthened through MUSE, The Rolls Royce Art Programme. As part of this unique initiative, the biennial Spirit of Ecstasy Challenge invites established and emerging creative practitioners to re-imagine her distinctive form in a material and manner of their choosing.
In 2020, the Spirit of Ecstasy took on a new life and appearance as part of a wider update of the Rolls-Royce brand identity. Known as The Expression, she appears ethereal and regal, yet with a highly contemporary, technological edge that reflects the company’s vision as a modern House of Luxury.
Sykes' original ‘The Whisperer’ and other Spirit of Ecstasy figurines are on permanent display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.
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