THIS lacquer cigarette box was an emperor’s gift. It had been presented to the late Georgette Ellison by the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
The cigarette box – an unusual feature of the Hegarty’s sale in Bandon on July 24 – sold for 3,800. It was bought by a collector in Hong Kong, who heard about the piece through the internet.
Georgette Ellison was widow of a high ranking US military officer who served in the Far East in the years following the Second World War.