THE launching mallet for a Scottish-built ship dubbed Canada’s Titanic is to go under the hammer in the next month.
The RMS Empress of Ireland went down in the St Lawrence River following a collision with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad on May 29, 1914, with the loss of 1012 lives.
Commissioned by Canadian Pacific Steamships, the ship was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Glasgow’s Govan Shipyards.
The tragedy, which came two years after the Titanic sank, was the worst maritime disaster in peacetime in Canadian history.
The ivory launching mallet and silver casket from the vessel are now due to be auctioned at McTear’s in July, with an estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.
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When the ship was launched in 1906, the mallet was given to the wife of Sir Alexander Gracie, who was a member of the Fairfield board of directors at the time, and is now being sold by Alison Cousin, one of their descendants.
She said: “My father was close to Sir Alexander Gracie, who was his great uncle, and also to his daughters.
“The mallet and case were gifted to him decades ago and I remember seeing them in the house when I was growing up. I knew they were important pieces but I didn’t realise the huge historic significance until after my father passed away.
“It is absolutely right that these important items are now passed to a new owner who will treasure them the way that our family has.”
The sinking claimed the lives of 840 passengers and 172 crew on the RMS Empress of Ireland. The SS Storstad remained afloat.
Due to the historical significance of the mallet, the auction house was given a rare dispensation by the UK Government to sell the lot, after a ban on the auction of ivory in 2022.
McTear’s specialist James Bruce said: “It is now very rare to receive a licence to sell works made from ivory, with dispensation granted for items of ‘outstanding artistic, historical or cultural value’.
“Only a handful of licences have been granted in the past. The mallet and casket should be seen as tangible links to the Empress of Ireland’s monumental birth, pivotal voyages and doomed final journey.
“Her demise will live on as one of Canada’s greatest tragedies, with the death toll and manner of sinking leading many to class her as the nation’s very own Titanic.”
The mallet was used to tap the ship to mark the launch. It has a number of intricate carvings of crests and inscriptions, with the silver casket including a Royal Coat of Arms and embossed panels of national flora, fruits and Poseidon masks over crossed tridents.
The RMS Empress of Ireland launching mallet and silver casket will feature in McTear’s Fine Furniture and Works of Art Auction in Glasgow on July 20.
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