7.3cm (2.8in) x 17cm (6.7in) x 8.4cm (3.3in)
Victorian rosewood stamp box incorporating a gilt brass silver mounted 11th Hussars officer’s pouch flap with silver laurel leaf decoration entwined with battle honours - Salamanca, Peninsula, Waterloo, Bhurtpore, and Egypt Sphinx - for the lid; the fitted morocco interior compartmentalised and gilt embossed for postage stamps according to value.
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Originally worn by cavalrymen as containers for carbine rifle ammunition, shoulder belt pouches assumed purely decorative usage in the mid 19th century. Late in the century the tradition of recycling the silver elements of an officer’s uniform for domestic use was developed with a number of prestigious London firms carrying out the bespoke work to order.