25.5cm (10in) x 30.5cm (12in) x 13cm (5.1in)
Black leather over wood, the hinged lid with embossed linear and shamrock decoration, central crowned EVIIR cypher of Edward VII (reigned 1901-1910) in gilt; and fitted with inset brass handle. Brass key plate and lock by Mordan & Co, London to the front. The internal leading edge stamped with the maker’s name of Armstrong of Dublin. Complete with working key.
The present box is contemporaneous with the successive tenures of ther 2nd Earl of Dudley and 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (running from 1902 to 1905 and on to 1915 respectively). The former was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland when Arthur Balfour came to power, and was regarded as a competent administrator. His time in Dublin led to his inclusion as a character in James Joyce's Ulysses.