Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 43 25 Mar 2020
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The Pavilion Collection, Commemorative Medals, George, Prince of Wales, the new Covent Garden Theatre, Laying of the Foundation Stone, massive copper medal, 31 December, 1808, unsigned but by Peter Rouw, applied bust r., in high relief, rev. legend in nine lines, GEORGIUS PRINCEPS WALLIARUM THEATRI REGIS INSTAURANDI AUSPICIIS IN HORTIS BENEDICTINIS LONDONINI FUNDAMENTA SUA MANU LOCAVIT MDCCCVIII, 91.5mm. (BHM.638; Eimer 990), extremely fine and extremely rare
The medal is unusual in that the bust, which is in very high relief, is struck separately from the medal and then applied to the flan. Most examples have Rouw's signature on the truncation, though not this specimen. The legend states that the Prince, 'with his own hand laid the stone...'. It is usually believed that only 18 specimens were struck, but the correct figure must be a little greater. An example of the medal which sold in Spink Coin Auction 46, 9 October 1985 (lot 552), included a list of 17 of the supposed 18 recipients as follows: The Foundation Stone, The King, The Queen, The Prince of Wales [7], Duke of Northumberland, Mr J Smirke, RA [the architect of the new theatre], Sir J Lawrence, RA, Mr Payne Knight, the British Museum, Oxford [Ashmolean] and Cambridge [Fitzwilliam].
The old Covent Garden Theatre had been destroyed by a calamitous fire during which some twenty or more, including firemen, were killed as the building collapsed. Work on a new theatre began almost immediately, to designs by Robert Smirke and, on the last day of 1808, the Prince of Wales, dressed in his Freemason's regalia laid the foundation stone, accompanied by much pomp and ceremony. Following the ceremony, all dignitaries including the Prince of Wales retired to the Free Masons Tavern for a meal, the Prince still wearing his masonic apron. The theatre opened just over eight months later with a performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth with John Philip Kemble and his sister Sarah Siddons.
(400-600 GBP)
The medal is unusual in that the bust, which is in very high relief, is struck separately from the medal and then applied to the flan. Most examples have Rouw's signature on the truncation, though not this specimen. The legend states that the Prince, 'with his own hand laid the stone...'. It is usually believed that only 18 specimens were struck, but the correct figure must be a little greater. An example of the medal which sold in Spink Coin Auction 46, 9 October 1985 (lot 552), included a list of 17 of the supposed 18 recipients as follows: The Foundation Stone, The King, The Queen, The Prince of Wales [7], Duke of Northumberland, Mr J Smirke, RA [the architect of the new theatre], Sir J Lawrence, RA, Mr Payne Knight, the British Museum, Oxford [Ashmolean] and Cambridge [Fitzwilliam].
The old Covent Garden Theatre had been destroyed by a calamitous fire during which some twenty or more, including firemen, were killed as the building collapsed. Work on a new theatre began almost immediately, to designs by Robert Smirke and, on the last day of 1808, the Prince of Wales, dressed in his Freemason's regalia laid the foundation stone, accompanied by much pomp and ceremony. Following the ceremony, all dignitaries including the Prince of Wales retired to the Free Masons Tavern for a meal, the Prince still wearing his masonic apron. The theatre opened just over eight months later with a performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth with John Philip Kemble and his sister Sarah Siddons.
(400-600 GBP)