The portable cabinet in the style of a Renaissance vargueno was made in Spain in the late 17th century and covered with coloured leather gilded using two different techniques: tooling and drawing with needles. The piece contains medals and a pair of silver pocket watches presented to Emperor Alexander III by Prince Vladimir Alexandrovich Menshikov, the last of the line, in 1887. They are possibly the same timepieces that were left to Menshikov after the confiscation of his property and accompanied him into Siberian exile. They were passed down as heirlooms in the Menshikov family from generation to generation in the male line. The watches were made in London by English craftsmen between 1700 and the 1720s. They are decorated with chasing and enamel portraits of members of the House of Hannover: George, Prince of Wales, (1683-1760) and his wife Caroline of Ansbach.