ROYAL TREASURE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 8 March 1912, Page 7

ROYAL TREASURE.

VAULTS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE. Beneath Buckingham Palace are two j treasure vaults where are stored -the treasures of the King and Qiwcn for; which 110 room can be found ;n the apartments of any of the Royal residences, some of which are already almost inconveniently overcrowded with various valuable ornaments in the way of antique 1 works of art. statuary, china, and gold j and silver ornament? of all knuls. The Royal treasure vaults ar t . fire and | damp proof, and are now lighted with ( electric light. Each is entered by a double door, €acli door consists of a slab ; of solid steel three inches thick, the door? j are set on steel rails and open in t-he centre; when unlocked thty can be glidtd ■ easily and noiselessly to the right or Jett. | The keys of the vaults arc held bv the King's private secretary. In one ol the vaults are stored large pieces of old furluture, some of wiiich is of imincnsy value, such, for example, as a huge old Sheraton sideboard with the Royal arms inLaid ill the centre, which is one of the most perfect examples of work extant. The sideboard, if sold m the open market, uo-uid fetch certainly not less than 10,000 guineas. There are many large statues, a number of enormous pictures, and a great deal of big bronze work in th e vaults, but none of these are of specially high value. They are largely the works of modern artists, many ot them Germans of but mediocre reputation, from whom the late King consented to receive examples of their work, and tney woukf be out of place among th; fine works ofi art to be seen in the various apartments about the .Royal residences, even- if there was room for them. The smaller of the two treasure vauiif, which has a floor space of aboub 20 feet square, is several times smaller than the larger one, but its contents are infinitely more valuable. Here are stored thousands of pounds' worth of S°'" and silver ornaments of all sorts. There are hundreds of chains, watches, grotesque figures, models of animals and birds of many kinds, and models of ships. This wealth of gold and silver is arranged on shelves covered with purple velvet with which the vault is lined. Many of these valuabes are presents to the "late King and Queen or to thenpresent Majesties from various foreign loyalties or from Indian princes, and from time to some of them are placed in the Royal apartments to take the place of similar ornaments, which are then removed to the treasure vaults. The treasures are all most carefully catalogued, and the catalogue is time to time checked over by an oflicial in the secretarial dtpartment. In the smaller vault is also .stored the collection of tapestries which' the Queen specially values and which her Majesty has brought together. There ar e over 200 of these tapestries, some of which are worth thousands of pounds. One of tho pieces was purchased by Queen Mary in a Paris saleroom when her Majisty and Kinu George. as Prince and Princess of, Wales, were visiting Pari.-, some years afro. Her Majesty secured the piece for a hundred guineas, at which price it \v;i* a rare bargain, for it subsequently turned out to be a genuine example of fifteenth century work, and was worth certainly 1000 guinea^. Ln the room at Buckingham Palace,, known .as the Bow iloom, there was a secret passage leading to the treasure vaults, but this passage was closed up in th< reign «>f Qiic; n Victoria.—Weekly Tclt graph.