Tobacco box

Tobacco box commemorating Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). A round box, made of embossed sheet brass. On the lid, an obelisk, projecting beyond the side of the box, on which is placed the admiral's bust, facing left, within an oval border with palm and laurel branches, a naval crown above. The monument is flanked by flags, a mourning seaman leans on the base which is piled with trophies of war. Below 'PWF' (Peter Wyon fecit). On the front of the tomb chest: 'GALLANT NELSON DIED IN THE HOUR OF VICTORY 21 OCT AD 1805'. Exergue: 'TRAFALGAR.' On the base of the box shows an urn on a plinth inscribed: 'BASTIA ABOVKIR COPENHAGEN'. A mourning Britaniia with lion, union shield and spear to the left; Neptune on the right, draws back a veil from the urn to reveal the letters 'HN'. Legend: 'IN LIFE VICTORIOUS IN DEATH TRIUMPHANT.' Exergue:MDXXV'. 'PWF'.

Object Details

ID: OBJ0308
Type: Tobacco box
Display location: Not on display
Creator: P W F; Wyon, Peter
Events: French Revolutionary Wars: Siege of Bastia, 1794; French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile, 1798 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen, 1801 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar, 1805
Date made: circa 1806
People: Nelson, Horatio
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Sutcliffe-Smith Collection
Measurements: Overall: 15 x 55 mm
Parts: Tobacco box