An Edwardian Scottish silver and ivory commemorative axe, as used at a ship launching ceremony. Hallmarked Glasgow 1906 by R. & W. Sorley. The blade engraved to one side with the British Royal Coat of Arms and to the other with an armorial; [crest: a demi-lion rampant holding in its dexter paw a mullet; shield: on a chief, Or, three arrows, two in saltire, one paleways, between two mullets; the escutcheon: on Azure a lion rampant]. The engraved Royal Coat of Arms and the Glasgow hallmarks would point to the launch ceremony occurring in similar circumstance to that of the string cutting by the N.Z. Premier, Sir Joseph Ward's wife at the launch of HMS 'New Zealand', a gift to the government of Britain at Fairfield Ship Works in Glasgow 1911. The use of similar axes is recorded at Fairfield launches (http://tinyurl.com/b8ervt3). Length 24 cm