This very handsome Irish freedom box was sold earlier in the week in England for a figure more than three times its top estimate. The gold box was originally presented by the City of Cork on 30th January 1822, 179 years ago this week, to Richard, Marquis Wellesley, brother of the Duke of Wellington. At the time of the presentation, the marquis was Lord Lieutenant in Ireland. Offered by Sotheby's South in West Sussex last Monday, the box carried a pre-sale estimate of £8,000 to £12,000; the successful bidder was New Bond Street dealer S J Phillips, which paid £40,250 for the item.

It was one of a number of pieces being sold from the collection of a retired Lancashire antiques dealer, Joe Marshall, who died last August. Mr Marshall, who had been in the antiques business for more than half a century, kept many of his finest treasures such as this freedom box in a secret vault hidden behind a dresser in his kitchen.