The Washington herald., 1911-08-16
ROYAL TREASURES.

apartments, and their doors are burglar
and powder proof. They have locks
about IS inches long all covered by
steel plates. In the rooms at Windsor
Castle there is plate valued at some
81, 100000. THERE'S a gold dinner service
sufficient for 14O persons, numbering in all
LOO pieces, and weighing about 5000
pounds. A candelabrum of gold repre-
senting ST. George and the Dragon, and
used for lighting the royal banquet table,
is so heavy that 1t requires the combined
strengthen two men to lift 1t. 1t
weighs 200 ounces, and is valued at
s65. .0Oo A more modern piece Of plate. an
epergne, designed by the late Prince
Consort. is worth s55,000. It was made
to commemorate Queen Victorias first
visit to Scotland, and represented her
deer hound standing over a dead stag.
One salver is five feet in diameter. and
was made from the gold snuffboxes Of
George Nv. which had been presented
to him by various cities. The lids and
inscriptions Of the boxes have been Curl
ously preserved on the surface of the
salver in a kind Of mosaic gold. This
beautiful piece is valued at $4,000. Then
there is huge cuspidor of solid gold,
weighing ten pounds, which was pre-
sented to Queen Victoria by the late
King Chulalongkorn of Siam, and din
ner service of silver. presented to WILL
lam w, when he was Duke Of Clarence,
by the merchants of Liverpool in return
for his advocacy Of the slave trade. But
when the duke ascended the throne he
signed the act of'Parliament abolishing
slavery in the British dominions august,
1880.
Charles melted down nearly all the
gold plate in his possession in his en-
deavor to subdue his Parliament, and as
a result there is not much in the shape
of gold antiquities in Windsor Castle.
But there is the great tankard known
as the Armada" because it was made
of the gold doubloons looted from the
cabin Of the Spanish admiral of the
armada when his vessel surrendered to
the British, and also the Peg tankard,
which has an exterior of gold, with its
interior lined with precious stones. In
days gone by 1t was the custom to fill
1t every night with rich Tokay wine,
and etiquette obliged all guests to
drink from II before retiring
There are china services innumerable
at the royal residences, and the speci-
mems at Windsor of old Sevres are al
most priceless. Three vases of Rose du
Barry Sevres stand in the grand corri-
dc, and they must be worth at least
$4,000. The vases are fourteen inches in
nelgnt, ana the designs on tnelr races
are beautifully painted in panels.
In 1854 there was commenced at the
Royal Sevres Porcelain Works a grand
dessert service for Louis XVI, and II
was not completed until ten years later.
The service, which came into the pos
session of George ~, is now to be found
in one of the drawing-rooms OF Windsor
Castle, where two remarkable specimens
OF modern Sevres work are also to be
faR fha Of trott
OF the late Queen Victoria and the
Prince Consort, each painted on a slab
Of porcelain. The paintings are copies
of the portraits by Winterhalter, and
Louis Philippe had them executed in 1s4S
as present to Queen Victoria.
There are two beautiful cabinets at
Windsor Castle. One is the Sevres cabi-
net of the Louis Seize period. and the
other the Louis Quatorze cabinet Of
Andre Boute Q655). The former has por-
celain panels of "oeil-de-perdri' tur-
quoise, while the plaques in the doors
show paintings of flowers in baskets.
1t is said that the Gouthiere cabinet,
which is the property of the royal family.
is worth quite S250,000. Although It Is
comparatively small. it is considered to
be one of the rarest and finest specimens
OF the wood carver's art in existence.
Some years ago .his cabinet was trans
ferred from Windsor Castle to Bucking-
ham Palace. and 1t was inclosed in a
specially made box with special locks.
Armed detectives kept close guard over
the box and its contents from the time
It left the castle until its arrival at Buck
ingham Palace.
King George and Queen Mary are
having all the beautiful caskets, num-
bering more than 30, and the silver
trowels and golden keys presented to
them since their marriage placed In an
apartment at Windsor Castle. where
they will be catalogued so that they
also may be seen by visitors when the
court is not in residence there.
A few of these caskets, which by their
artistic workmanship have appealed es-
pecially to the Queen, are being used
as receptacles for trinkets, and they
adorn her dressing room. King George,
who has taken a fancy to two exquisitely
shaped golden keys, had them balanced
to perfection, and uses them as paper
weights.
It is not generally known that some
of the wedding presents to the King and
Queen still are stored in London ware
house Most Of these articles are Of the
white elephant" order, but as they
were presented by patriotic Institutions
with the best intentions the royal pair
will not part with them. Perhaps space
now may be found for them In the
specially prepared apartment at Windsor
Castle.
At the Sale Petite in Paris short
time ago there was sold a cup which
formerly belonged to the treasures Of the
Bourbon kings Of France. 1t formed part
of the objects of art and Of silversmiths'
works which comprised the collection Of
Baron Karl Meyer Won Rothschild, father
of Baroness James Rothschild, OF the
Duchess de Grammont, and OF the
Princess de Wagram, and which devolved
by heritage from her mother, the late
Princess de Wagram, to Princess Jacques
de Broglie.
The cup above mentioned has been de-
scribed in the inventory Of the French
royal treasure which was drawn up In
In. During the revolution that cup, to-
gether with many, other objects forming
part of the possessions of the Crown,
was stolen. Other gems In that collec-
ton were the Regent" and the famous
Blue diamonds. A number engraved
under the stem leaves no doubt as to
whence that cup was derived.
The cup is Of massive silver inlaid with
agate with spots and veins, and Is
mounted In enameled gold. 1t Is oval in
shape, and stands upon an oval foot. to |
which 1t is Joined by baluster-shaped
stem. After the sale the French govern |
ment laid claim to the cup. which had