FINE JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & COINS 29th April 2026 at 12pm

4 Around the globe, there is a centuries long tradition of presenting a cup or trophy to the winner of a competition. As with all traditions, we have to look back far into the past to see where this began. The word ‘trophy’ comes from the Greek word ‘Tropaion’ which is used for anything that has been erected as a result of victory, such as columns and arches.This comes from the word ‘Trepein’ meaning ‘turn’ which is a result of the tradition Greek warriors had to turn the weapons of their enemies into symbols of their victory. It is impor tant to note, that while most spor ting trophies are a similar cup style (both with and without handles), a trophy can be anything that is presented to a victor. In Ancient Greece,every four years a festival was held in Athens called the Panathenaic Games. Similar to the Olympics, there were spor ting competitions but there were also additions of religion and cultural events honoring the goddess Athena.Winners of the competitions were presented with the highly coveted olive oil, which Athena had provided the city with, but of course, it had to be held in something. Panathenaic amphorae were large ceramic vessels that held the winning oil and often depicted Athena or successful warriors - some could hold up to 45 litres of olive oil! Even when the oil was finished, the amphora was kept by the winner and either displayed with pride or was used as a storage vessel due to the practicality of the prize. Today, we are more familiar with trophies made of silver, that look like chalices, and are often engraved, either on the cup or the base, with the name of the winner of said trophy. It was not until the late 17th/ early 18th centuries that this style of trophy came to prominence, with the first known example being the Kyp Cup by silversmith, Jesse Kyp.This was presented in 1699 to the winner of a horse race in New England. THE TA K E S I T A L L LIVE AUCTION OF FINE JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & COINS • WEDNESDAY, 29th APRIL 2026 AT 12PM