This enchanting casket is testament to the enduring power of performance as well as the tempestuous and capricious environment of the 19th century stage. Originally conceived as an expression of thanks, this box narrates almost exactly a story bought to the 21st century stage and screen by the production The Greatest Showman.

The handwritten paper label on the interior of the box reveals that it was presented to the great Swedish soprano Jenny Lind in 1848 by the theatre impresario Benjamin Lumley, presumably after her triumphant performance in Verdi's opera I masnadieri had saved him from bankruptcy. The director of Her Majesty's Theatre, Lumley was close to financial ruin after his orchestra, singers and conductor had set up a rival company in 1846 but in a spectacular revival of fortune, Lumley commissioned the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi to write I masnadieri and engaged Jenny Lind, an operatic sensation, to play its heroine in her London debut. This casket, made of costly and precious bloodstone and inset with garnets, reflects the success of this endeavour and the first performance on 22 July 1847 was conducted by Verdi himself and attended by Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and the Duke of Wellington. The truth of the sentiment expressed by this casket is perhaps affirmed in retrospect, for when Jenny Lind retired from the stage in 1849, Lumley's fortunes declined once more and he ended his career in much reduced circumstances.

A MODERN SENSATION
The story of Jenny Lind and Benjamin Lumley mirrors almost exactly the friendship of Jenny Lind with the American impresario P.T. Barnum (1810-1891) adapted for the screen and stage in the award-winning 2017 film The Greatest Showman, directed by Michael Gracey. The friendship and gratitude demonstrated by Lumley with this casket is perhaps more genuine than the intimate relationship between Lind and Barnum now familiar to modern audiences. While in reality Jenny Lind broke off her tour with P. T. Barnum due to disagreement, this casket indicates that Lind and Lumley's relationship was more positive and Lind remained with Lumley's company until her retirement in 1849.