i heard someone say the mind keeps wandering

this massive thing was found sitting in a puddle...

it was housed in an equally extravangant wood box covered in purple leather & lined with gold satin which took all the damage & protected the item quite well.  it weighs upwards of 100lbs & i can't quite figure out why!  sure, the velvet cover has enameled metal bosses & a giant cross in the middle, but whatever the cover is made out of seems to weigh an extraordinary amout... inside it is a four-flap containing chromo-lithograph plates of the mosaics in the Basilica San Marco, Venice.

it's breathtaking & i hope we send out the box to be repaired.