Viva Brighton Issue #76 June 2019

CURATOR’S CITY
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All images: Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
After Charles Thomas Cracklow: View of the Pavilion and Steyne at Brighton. After 1806
GRATEFUL GEORGE’S HORSE BLING:
THE BRIGHTON CUP UP-CLOSE
It is well known that George IV was a connoisseur
of all things bling and beautiful. The Royal
Pavilion boasts one of the most spectacular and
valuable collections of silver-gilt in the country,
most of it displayed in and next to the Banqueting
Room. One piece, the ‘Brighton Cup’, has
a very special connection with George, and has
been moved to the Prints & Drawings Gallery
in Brighton Museum for the exhibition All the
King’s Horses, which explores George’s obsession
with all things equestrian. This is a rare opportunity
to see this magnificent object up-close, from
a different angle, newly cleaned, and without the
distraction of all the other exciting objects in the
Pavilion. It also gives us an opportunity to tell
its story.
Racing at Brighton began in 1783, the same year
George first visited Brighton, as a young prince
of 21. Although well known, the Brighton track
initially struggled to make money. A small group
of wealthy supporters including the Earl of Egremont
and the Duke of Richmond supported it
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