Pippa Middleton gave her nephew Prince George an unusual christening gift – an $11,000-plus silver replica sculpture of his hands and feet.
Middleton's gift, which Britain's Daily Mail reported was presented to
the child's parents Prince William and her sister Kate, was created by the small London-based company Wrightson and Platt that specializes in such unusual keepsakes.
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Although an image of the actual replicated feet have yet to be obtained by the media, and likely never will, the Daily Mail tweeted out a photo of another silver sculpture of a child's feet and hands to provide a visual.
It takes 30 seconds to make the mold, according to Wrightson and Platt, during which time the baby's feet are place into a jelly-like, water-based concoction before put into a seaweed-based powder.
From there, the client can choose to have the mold made into a variety of materials including colored glass, lead crystal, bronze, gold or silver – which
Middleton chose considering it’s the traditional christening metal, People magazine noted.
According to Wrightson and Platt, each set comes with personalized engravings.
Aunty Middleton's unusual gift might have been inspired by Queen Victoria's desire to have sculptor Mary Thorneycroft carve replicas of her nine children’s hands, feet and limbs in alabaster in the mid-1880s, the Daily Mail noted.
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Despite the news reports of the silver feet and hands, a spokesman for the Clarence House – a royal home in London, would not confirm the gift, telling the Daily Mail, "If such a gift exists it would be a private gift and not be something we would be aware of."
Another gift reportedly given to the future king of England included a more modest hand-crafted pine toy box from members of the Cabinet.