Page 4 Advertisements Column 1

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8508, 7 March 1891, Page 4 (Supplement)

It is estimated that the value of gold and ,'ilver plate contained in the gold pantry at Windsor is not less than two millions. There are 30 dozen gold plates, valued at £30,000; and there is an immense number ' of gold shields and salvers, one of which was manufactured out of snufF-boxes by the order of George IV., and is valued at £10,000. One of the most valuable articles treasured is in the form of a lyre bird, which once belonged to Tippoo Sahib, and was captured by the English army at the fall of Seringa The bird's body and spreading tail are of solid gold, studded over with diamonds and other precious stones; it is worth £300,000. Another curiosity once belonging to the same prince is the footstool used by him, namely, a tiger's head wrought in silver, the size of life, and exquisitely chased ; the tongue is of gold, and the fangs are two large crystals. Another curiosity is a pair of bellows once the property of ell Gwynne. There are also several relics of the Tudor period, but many valuable antiquities were melted down or dispersed during the 1 i Commonwealth.