TWO SILVER-MOUNTED CIGAR AND CIGARETTE BOXES MADE FROM WOOD ...

Estimate

£300 - £500

TWO SILVER-MOUNTED CIGAR AND CIGARETTE BOXES MADE FROM WOOD RECOVERED FROM THE S.S. FUKUI MARU (EX-ABERGELDIE, 1882), AFTER SHE WAS SUNK AS A BLOCKSHIP AT PORT ARTHUR DURING THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR OF 1904

the lids with inset dual-language inscriptions in English and Japanese reading Made of wood belonging to the S.S. / "Fukui Maru", sunk to block the entrance / of Port Arthur on the 27th March 1904 by / the hero Hirose who was killed after / having achieved his gallant deed, silver edging with decorative shaped corners and push-button catch, the largest -- 4½ x 8½ x 5¾in. (11.5 x 21.5 x 14.5cm.); together with another, similar, made of wood from H.M.S. Victor Emmanuel of Hong Kong 1874-1898

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Lt. Cmdr. Hirose Takeo (1868-1904) was a Japanese naval officer who is best known for his heroic death during the opening stages of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. On 27th March that year a Japanese naval force surprised the Russian Fleet at anchor in Port Arthur. Takeo, serving aboard the battleship Asahi volunteered to command the aging merchantman Fukui Maru and sink it as a blockship in the harbour entrance. In the event he was sunk by shore batteries before he could attain his objective. The Fukui Maru blew up and, although seriously wounded, Takeo refused to abandon his post and continued to direct his men to safety, dying before he could escape. He soon became a national hero being posthumously promoted to commander and deified as a ‘military god’.