In any art collection whose origins are diverse, there will inevitably be a "miscellaneous" section.
This section includes some of the very best works of art and historic objects in the archive, all of which have little in common other than the fact that their provenance usually includes, at some stage, the desire of a previous owner that they should come into the care of the Admiralty, the War Office or, more recently, the Ministry of Defence.
This tiny carving is one of a set of five fifteenth century Flemish alabaster panels from Chicksands Priory, in Bedfordshire.
When the site became a Defence establishment, objects from the Priory were sent to a local museum. Following the recent restoration at Chicksands, the museum decided to allow the alabasters to return to their original home. They are the oldest pieces within the Collection.