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.
In 1843, public acclamation of Nelson as hero was at its height. A public subscription was set up and the sculptor Edward Hodges Baily was commissioned to produce a statue of the Admiral, to be placed in a square named after his most famous battle.
The result was the production of Nelson's Column; the sculptor gave his model - also known as a maquette - to the Admiralty.
This maquette now stands on the foyer of the former Old Admiralty Building, Whitehall.