George Angell & Co., London, 1857, the repoussé decoration probably by William Edwards's workshop, Melbourne, retailed by Kilpatrick & Co., London and Melbourne
Of classical baluster shape with a pair of loop handles and domed cover, the front of the body with a repoussé group of a mounted figure bearing a dead kangaroo on another horse with an attendant and hounds in a landscape, the reverse engraved 'Port Philip Farmers Society / Instituted 1848 / Challenge Cup / for / the Best Animal / in the Class of / Draught Horse Stock / Won by / "Prince Charlie" / the property of Messrs J. & M. Macintosh. 1862', the cover with a figure of a standing kangaroo as a finial, the body, foot, and cover otherwise with floral and foliate decoration in relief, Kilpatrick & Co.'s name engraved to the foot, with original oak case
34.5cm high, 1,188g
Estimate $6,000 - $9,000
James (1830–1904) and Murdock (a.k.a. Murdoch, 1837–1920) Macintosh (a.k.a. Mackintosh), Melbourne
The great-grandfather of the vendor, acquired privately in the early twentieth century, evidently from Murdock Macintosh with whom he was associated in business in Gippsland, Victoria
Thence by descent
'The Port Phillip Farmers' Society's annual exhibition of live stock, poultry, and implements', 'The Leader' [Melbourne], 11 October, 1862, p. 13, illustrated with a wood engraving
J.B. Hawkins, Nineteenth Century Australian Silver (1990), vol. 1, 221–223, illustrated pl. 183 (reproducing the 1862 'Leader' illustration)
John Hawkins cites and illustrates the present lot as an example of a practice in Melbourne in the late 1850s and early 1860s whereby English-made cups and ewers were imported (including a stock probably brought by William Edwards upon his move from London to Melbourne in 1857) and embellished in Melbourne, probably in Edwards's workshop, for presentation as trophies.
Having established themselves on part of the 'Glenroy Estate' (on land now in Melbourne's north west) in the mid-1850s, the Scottish immigrant brothers James and Murdock Macintosh (alternatively Mackintosh) imported the Clydesdale stallion 'Prince Charlie' in 1857. The horse soon became one of the most celebrated specimens of livestock in Victoria, winning, amongst other prizes, the Port Phillip Farmers' Society Champion Cup in 1859, 1860, and 1862, qualifying him for the Society's Challenge Cup in 1862 (the present lot), awarded for multiple champion prize wins.
The Port Phillps Farmers' Society, established in 1848 from smaller local farmers' societies to develop and promote improvements in agriculture, became the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria in 1890.
Decorative Arts
AUCTION
Sale: LJ8826
6:00pm - 16 November 2026
Hawthorn
VIEWING
Fri 13 - Sun 15 November, 11am - 5pm
2 Oxley Rd, Hawthorn VIC
CONTACT
Chiara Curcio
decorativearts@leonardjoel.com.au
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