Patch box

Oval patch box with a mirror inside the lid, commemorating Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). The surface is enamelled, the base and sides royal blue. The lid is painted with Britannia seated mourning beside a coffin sprouting laurel branches, the sea and a ship in the background. A hand coming down from the clouds holds a scroll inscribed: 'Britain thy foe is Vanquish'd / but the Victor died 1805'. The lid has a blue border with white spots.

Object Details

ID: OBJ0041
Type: Patch box
Display location: Not on display
Events: Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar, 1805
Date made: circa 1805
People: Nelson, Horatio
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Caird Fund.
Measurements: Overall: 57 x 42 x 20 mm