the mallet head carved to the obverse with the Fairfield Shipbuilding crest comprising an anchor motif within a border inscribed THE FAIRFIELD SHIPBUILDING & ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED, the reverse with corresponding monogram, the head of the shaft with date inscription .27TH JANY. 1906. and T.S.S."EMPRESS OF IRELAND", over a fluted to foliate carved shaft and ovoid pommel, 30cm long, the casket maker Robert Stewart, Glasgow 1906, the hinged caddy top with cast Royal Coat of Arms finial with embossed thistle border, the cover further embossed with panels of national flora, fruits and Poseidon masks over crossed tridents, with central cartouche inscribed PRESENTED TO MRS. Alexander Gracie, BY THE CHAIRMAN AND DIRECTORS OF FAIRFIELD SHIPBUILDING AND ENGINEERING CO. LTD. ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF THE T.S.S. EMPRESS OF IRELAND 27TH JANY. 1906, the frieze embossed with panels depicting the Empress of Ireland, Fairfield Shipyard, the Canadian Parliament Building, and a marine engine, also with roundels depicting the Fairfield Shipbuilding crest, monogram, and a heraldic Celtic Harp, raised on four cast and engraved grotesque dolphin feet, with twin cast pierced aprons of maple leaves, the fitted interior lined in quilted turquoise silk, 21.5cm high, 37cm wide, 21cm deep

Note: The R.M.S. Empress of Ireland was a Scottish built ocean liner that sank in the Saint Lawrence River, Canada, following a collision with the Norwegian collier S.S. Storstad on the 29^th May 1914. Of the 1,477 people on board, 1,012 lost their lives, making it the worst peacetime marine disaster in Canadian history.

Learn more about the R.M.S. Empress of Ireland here

Provenance: From Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Gracie to the current vendors by family descent.

SOLD WITH IVORY ACT 2018: CERTIFICATE FOR A PRE-1918 ITEM OF OUTSTANDINGLY HIGH ARTISTIC, CULTURAL OR HISTORICAL VALUE, NUMBER UCQNUPJX