Andrew Lenehan (1815-86)
Box 1851
Wood, velvet, silk, gold | 14.0 x 22.0 x 22.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 84471
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An Australian hinged casket made from Cypress pine but incorporating specimens of 10 fine Australian woods. The lid has a crown-shaped finial which serves as an opening knob and is veneered inside. The inside of the box is lined in blue velvet and contains a blue silk ribbon describing the woods used to make the box. The base rests on four lion's paw feet above a brown velvet cushion. A gold key decorated with Prince of Wales's feathers is kept with the box but does not fit it; it is likely from a companion piece, now missing, which was probably made for presentation to the Prince of Wales at a similar time.
The inscription on the box reads: 'THIS BOX/Manufactured from woods the produce/of the Colony of New South Wales/is humbly offered for the Acceptance/of Her Most Gracious Majesty/Queen Victoria/by Her Majesty's Loyal & Faithfull subject/Sydney 1851- Andrew Lenehan'.
The casket originally held two gold nuggets weighing 18 and 23 ounces respectively. These were specimens of deposits recently discovered in goldfields at Ophir and Turon in New South Wales in May 1851 and purchased by the Colonial Govenrment for presentation to Queen Victoria. The gifts were dispatched from Sydney for England on HMS Havannah in August that year. Sir Charles Fitzroy, Governor of New South Wales, commissioned a casket for the nuggets from Andrew Lenehan (1815-86), one of the region's leading furniture makers.
Lenehan was born in Sligo, Ireland, and is thought to have arrived in Australia in 1835 aboard the Jane Goudie. His cabinets incorporated both local and imported wares, and included commissions for Government House in Sydney. Lenehan refused to take payment for a royal gift.
See Yvonne Barber, 'A Gift for the Queen: Andrew Lenehan's Casket', Australiana, August 2023, Vol 45, no. 3, pp. 48-55.Provenance
Commissioned for Queen Victoria by Sir Charles Fitzroy (1795-1858), Governor of New South Wales, in 1851.
Displayed in the Swiss Cottage Museum at Osborne House by 1904. -
Creator(s)
(cabinet maker)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Wood, velvet, silk, gold
Measurements
14.0 x 22.0 x 22.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
Place of Production
New South Wales [Australia]
