Andrew 'Boy' Charlton 1924 Paris Olympics Vase Awarded for winning the 1500 metres swimming title Designed by Octave Denis Victor Guillonet for Sèvres, 1924, porcelain, decorated in relief with four circular pâte-sur-pâte panels depicting rugby, rowing, diving and football, each within a green border, against a cobalt blue ground with gilt branches of fruiting laurel, printed to the base 'O.D.V. GUILLONNET INV BRACQUEMOND SC' in green, and with Sèvres factory mark in grey 33cm high Footnotes: PRESENTED TO THE AUSTRALIAN SWIMMER ANDREW 'BOY' CHARLTON AT THE 1924 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES. Known as 'Boy', Charlton grew up in North Sydney and was a keen surfer. In the 1923 NSW State Championships he took 19 seconds off the 880 yards freestyle world record - a record he would break again in 1927. At the 1924 Olympic Games, he won the 1500 metres title, setting a new world and Olympic record of 20 minutes and 6.6 seconds. He would achieve further success at the Games, winning bronze in the 400 meters behind the Swede Arne Borg and Jonny Weismuller, and silver as part of the 4 x 200 relay. He would compete further for Australia on the international scene and again at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, where he failed to place. At the suggestion of the French Olympic Committee, these vases were developed to be given to the first-place winners as a memento of the Games. Four different variations were produced in a total of around 325 examples, with variations to the motifs of the panels, and they were presented by the Paris City Council to gold medal winners of the individual events. A small number were reportedly reserved for dignitaries and institutions. Provenance: Andrew 'Boy' Charlton (1907-1975) and thence by descent; Christie's Melbourne, Decorative Arts. 28-29 May 2001, Lot 140; Gorringes, Autumn Fine Art and Antiques, 27 September 2022, Lot 69; private collection, London. Literature: Jean-Paul Midant, Sèvres: La Manufacture au XXème Siècle, Paris, Aveline, 1992, pp80-81. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing