This fine silver-gilt casket is believed to have been owned by Mary, Queen of Scots. Made in Paris, it is an extremely rare example of French late medieval-early Renaissance silver and would have been used to store jewellery or devotional objects.
The casket is of particular renown because, allegedly, it once held the Casket Letters, which were used to implicate Mary in the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley, and an illicit relationship with Lord Bothwell.
The Letters, in a silver casket like this, were presented as evidence at a hearing against Mary at Westminster in 1568. Subsequently, Mary remained a prisoner in England for the next 19 years, until her execution in 1587.
The casket was acquired by Mary, Marchioness of Douglas in the mid-1600s, and after her death in 1674, bought by her daughter-in-law, Anne, Duchess of Hamilton.
For over 340 years it was preserved by the Dukes of Hamilton, as a precious relic of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Here’s a video that goes into more detail about the casket: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o2AosUAO0K4
by Lettered_Olive