Provenance

Presented to King Edward VII on the occasion of the opening of the new buildings of the Victoria & Albert Museum, 26 June 1909. It was presented by the Mayor, Aldermen and councillors of the Royal Borough of Kensington to celebrate his visit to the borough and his opening of the Cromwell Road extension.
In 1890 Parliament agreed to the expansion of the premises of the South Kensington Museum, and a competition was held to find an architect for the new building. Aston Webb (1849-1930) was the successful candidate, with what he described as a ‘free Renaissance treatment’ which he adopted as it allowed ‘the introduction of the very large amount of window space required in such a building’. Work began in 1899, with Queen Victoria laying the foundation stone, on Cromwell Road, on 7 May, and rechristening the building as the Victoria & Albert Museum. The new wing was completed by 1909 and Edward VII visited on 26 June to open it officially.  This casket was presented by the Mayor, Aldermen and councillors of the borough of Kensington in recognition of the day, which was described in the Daily Chronicle as ‘the only bright spot in a week of unspeakable weather… actually the sun shone with special ardour when His Majesty spoke the words which pronounced the museum open forever.’  The Daily Telegraph described the gift as ‘a golden casket of exquisite workmanship’.