The Venus Rosewater Dish is the Ladies' Singles Trophy awarded at

The Championships, Wimbledon ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

, and was first presented in 1886. A Rosewater dish is a ceremonial platter or basin used to catch rosewater from

ewers Ewers may refer to: *Anna Ewers (born 1993), German model *Dave Ewers (born 1990), Zimbabwean rugby player *Ezra P. Ewers (born c. 1840), American Civil War soldier *Hanns Heinz Ewers (1871–1943), German writer, philosopher, and actor *John C. Ew ...

and poured over the hands to wash them–a daily ceremony in England. Such dishes were later used for display only. A salver (Latin ''salva'', ''save from risk'') was originally used by food tasters who tested food for poison. A rosewater dish was considered a salver by extension. These dishes were made of pewter, silver, or gold. The 50

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

trophy is an diameter, partially gilded,

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy composed mass fraction (chemistry), by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver silver standards, standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fineness, Fine silver'' ...

salver made in 1864 by Elkington & Co. of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, and is a copy of an electrotype by Caspar Enderlein from a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

pewter original in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. It is tradition for the winner to be awarded the trophy and then walk a lap around the court to display the trophy to the crowd and photographers. The winner does not keep the trophy, which remains in the museum at the All-England club. From 1949 to 2006, all Champions received a miniature replica of the trophy (diameter ), and from 2007 all Champions have received a three-quarter replica of the trophy, bearing the names of all past Champions (diameter ). Being a reproduction of a Paris museum antique, the theme of decoration is related not to tennis but

Classical mythology Classical mythology, also known as Greco-Roman mythology or Greek and Roman mythology, is the collective body and study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. Mythology, along with philosophy and political thought, is one of the m ...

. The central boss depicts the figure of

Sophrosyne Sophrosyne () is an ancient Greek concept of an ideal of excellence of character and soundness of mind, which when combined in one well-balanced individual leads to other qualities, such as temperance, moderation, prudence, purity, decorum, ...

(not Venus), the personification of temperance and moderation, seated on a chest with a lamp in her right hand and a jug in her left, with various attributes such as a

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...

, fork and

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; , ) is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds like Iris (mythology), Iris, the messenger of Hera. The s ...

around her. The four reserves on the boss of the dish each contain a classical god, together with elements. The reserves around the rim show

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

presiding over the seven

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...

and

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

, each with relevant attribute. The rim of the salver has an

ovolo Ovolo is an Italian language, Italian word that means "little egg". The ovolo or echinus is a convex molding (decorative), decorative molding profile used in Ornament (architecture), architectural ornamentation. Its profile is a quarter to a half ...

moulding. The remainder of the surface is decorated with gilt

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

strapwork and foliate motifs in relief against a rigid silver ground. The first recipient of the trophy was

Blanche Bingley Blanche Bingley Hillyard (née Bingley; 3 November 1863 – 6 August 1946) was an English tennis player. She won six singles Wimbledon championships (1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900) and was runner up seven times, having also competed in the ...

in 1886. The name of

Maud Watson Maud Edith Eleanor Watson, Order of the British Empire, MBE (9 October 1864 – 5 June 1946) was a British tennis player and the first female Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon champion. Biography Born in Harrow, London, Harrow, Middlesex, the ...

, champion of 1884 and 1885, was later added. The names of the winners from 1884 to 1957 are inscribed on the inside of the dish, and the names of 1958 to present on the outside.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book, first=Alan , last=Little, title=Wimbledon Compendium, 2006, date=2006, publisher=

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championsh ...

, isbn=978-1-89903-925-8 1864 works Tennis awards Wimbledon Championships

See also

References

Bibliography