The Hidden Symbolism of the Biltmore Championship Trophy

As the first edition of the Biltmore Championship Asheville comes to a close today, one golfer will receive tournament’s new trophy, designed by Aubrey Vanderbilt Cecil.

Cecil, who runs her own fine jewelry brand, Avermore, was an unexpected to choice to create the trophy. But as the great-great granddaughter of George and Edith Vanderbilt, she drew on her family history—George built the Biltmore in the 1890s, and Edith and her daughter Cornelia were instrumental in bringing golf to western North Carolina—to tackle the exciting project.

“I wanted to go honor both Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt, who started the Biltmore Forest Country Club in 1922,” Cecil tells Town & Country, “they were able to pour back into our community at a time when it was struggling in the ’20s. They they were the first ones to tee off.” Her goal, she says was to “challenge myself and to honor them at the same time.”

Here, Cecil reveals what went into the creation of the trophy, the statuette’s hidden symbolism, and what she’s looking forward to today.

How much does your skill in jewelry design transfer to trophy design?

This was such a crazy idea for us because [in February] I called up my manufacturers, Marthaler Jewelers, and I said, “Hey, do you guys want to design a trophy?” And I heard Andy [Marthaler], who I love dearly, sigh. He’s like, “Yes, I just need to figure out how.” We sat down, we pitched Explore Asheville and Biltmore’s teams on a couple different styles, and they went with a very traditional trophy.

Courtesy of Aubrey Vanderbilt Cecil Baliles / Marthaler Jewelers

Some of Aubrey’s early sketches for the trophy.

Where did you start for inspiration?

We were getting input from everyone and tried to take that, refine it, and make it beautiful. I [thought], “We have to make this Asheville. We have to make this Biltmore,” so how do we go about that? It has all the architectural elements of the house, like the lions, the Winter Garden, the Winter Garden ceiling, the Oak Sitting Room, and then down into the stem, it’s got the Stuyvesant bracelet with some gold beads in it.

Courtesy of Aubrey Vanderbilt Cecil Baliles / Marthaler Jewelers

An initial rendering.

We decided to do an engraving around the top of the cup of the mountain range from Pisgah to Mount Mitchell, plying on what George Vanderbilt used to see out of his bedroom window. We really leaned into the [symbolism] of Asheville. [Explore Asheville] really wanted us to bring the state flower, the dogwood, forward, and the mountain range.

PGA Tour

The flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is the official state flower of North Carolina.

PGA Tour

The Blue Ridge Mountains engraved around the top of the trophy.

The base [is credit to] a Biltmore senior carpenter, Jason Pleva. He took a tree that fell during the hurricane, a black walnut, and he created the base from that. He leaned into the assignment of pulling inspiration from the house. Everything is inspired by either Western North Carolina or Biltmore House. He pulled the profile of the base from the glass stop molding, which is used on all exterior doors and windows in Biltmore House.

Does it make you want to get more into sculptural art, different spaces, past jewelry?

I never say no because if you had asked me this time last year, would we be launching a trophy in September, I would’ve laughed! So I won’t say no. I’m definitely open to challenges; that’s the fun part.

Will the winner keep this trophy, or will it live at the Biltmore?

It will live at [the course], the Cliffs at Walnut Cove. We have a perpetual trophy that will live there, with the winners’ scores and their names. And then the winner of each [tournament], they’ll get their own personal trophy to take home.

What are you looking forward to about championship Sunday, seeing the trophy be awarded?

PGA Tour

The trophy with Biltmore House in the background.

I can’t wait to see all of the people we’ve worked with, whether it was the Biltmore team, my family as well, the Explore Asheville team, and we’re all up there to watch the winner lift up this trophy, knowing that it means so much more than just a trophy to all of us. It’s a true work of art, craftsmanship and storytelling at its finest.

When whoever wins lifts the trophy up, what are you going to be looking for?

Honestly, that’s going to be a surreal moment where it’s like the project is finished. I know we’ve already turned in the trophy and everything is good, but that right there is going to be a moment where it’ll feel amazing.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.