A game of thrones

The Chair is made of oak and was originally covered in gold leaf gilding, and elaborately decorated with coloured glass. It is known to have been painted by Walter, the King’s Master Painter who decorated it with patterns of birds, foliage, and a king. It would have looked to the medieval eye as if it was made of solid gold and been a glittering spectacle in the holy ceremony.

The crown on the cushion
 
As we stay within the royal bloodline, just marvel at this glittering sapphire and diamond coronet that belonged to Queen Victoria. One of Victoria's most treasured jewels, the coronet was designed for her by Prince Albert in 1840 – the royal couple's wedding year – and made by Joseph Kitching, partner at Kitching and Abud. 

In 1842 Victoria wore the newly completed coronet in a famous portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, a German painter and lithographer, known for his portraits of royalty in the mid-nineteenth century. Over twenty years later, in 1866. she wore the coronet instead of her crown when she finally felt able to open Parliament for the first time since Albert's death. Her actual crown was carried on a cushion.

The exotic and the unfamiliar
 
We follow up with a rare memento of Queen Victoria’s beloved Prince Albert, his signed season ticket of admission to the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was inaugurated on 1 May 1851, and staged in the purpose-built Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park. The Great Exhibition included examples of industrial design and fine art from around the world. Foreign travel was unusual at the time, and the exhibition enabled visitors to see the exotic and the unfamiliar for themselves.

It is said to be one of the finest pieces of neo-classical silver in Europe and a unique design produced in honour of the Duke’s victory over the French in Portugal during the Peninsular Wars. It was designed by Domingos António de Sequeira, the Portuguese court painter and crafted by men from the Lisbon Military Arsenal. The Portuguese silver gilt service arrived in London in 1817 packed in a total of 55 crates!

Art meets science
 
This wondrous piece of scientific kit is an Astronomical Compendium made for King James I, who ruled 1603-1625. The engraved brass compendium was made by Elias Allen, who was the most distinguished instrument maker of his day (he made the first slide rule.)
 
His sophisticated compass-dial was used to tell the time throughout the day and night. In daytime, the hours are indicated by a sundial. At night, the pointer on the larger and lower of the two discs is set to the current date engraved on a scale on the back cover.

The compass-dial is held up to the eye and the smaller disc rotated until the slot cut in it is aligned with the two 'pointer' stars in the Great Bear. A pointer on this disc will then indicate the hour on the large disc.
 
The age of the moon, measured in days, and the position of the sun and moon in the zodiac are also indicated by rotating discs and a pointer on the back of the case. A fabulous fusion of art and science!

All that glitters
 
This ingenious gold change purse consists of twelve overlapping panels attached to a central base by chains that operate as drawstrings to secure it shut. Delicate acorns hang from the end of each chain, exemplifying the skilled craftsmanship of the house. In France these small change purses were known as bourse à Louis, after the national gold coin, the Louis d’Or.
 
The precious ‘drawstring’ purse, which belongs in the collection of the Simone Handbag Museum in Seoul, is a treasure from Napoleonic times, and was made by Boucheron, which opened in Paris in 1858 and quickly attracted a discerning aristocratic and royal clientele.