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Georgian Irish Silver Sugar Bowl - Charles Townsend
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Reference: S11448
Period: George III
Year: 1773-1790
Silversmith: Charles Townsend
Place: Dublin
Price: $ 840.00
Weight: 206 grams
Dimensions: 14 cm diameter, 6.8 cm height
Condition: Bowl and feet in good condition, 1 very small dent. The rim has 5 old small repairs, these have been well done, only visible from underneath. 2 Splits to rim, one is 1.5 cm, the second 1 cm (next to old repair).
Description: A Georgian Irish silver sugar bowl, made by Charles Townsend in Dublin around 1780. The bowl is circular with a fluted design and a flat fold over gadrooned rim, supported by three cast silver shell knuckle hoof feet, we love these feet. The base of the bowl is engraved with original owners initials P over M M, this is alongside the hallmarks. The bowl is clearly hallmarked with the Irish Hibernia and Crowned Harp, next to makers mark CT for Charles Townsend, who worked in Dublin between 1773 and 1790. This is a large bowl, more suitable today for bon-bons, it will hold a lot of sugar! The size and design is typical of the period for Irish silver, a number of other examples have survived. A similar shaped bowl but with different design, but with identical feet, now in the National Museum of Ireland. can be seen in a colour photograph in the book "Collecting Irish Silver" by Douglas Bennett (a book we highly recommend), page 63 and 65. The Metropolitan Museum also has a very similar fluted bowl, also by Charles Townsend with similar hallmarks, dated 1770-1785, see ref 197720 on their website. Whilst we love this design, we must point out that the fold over flat rim is clearly a weak point, susceptible to splits. The rim has 5 old repairs, visible from underneath, and done at the same time by the same silversmith, these have been well done, barely noticeable from the top unless you search carefully with a magnifying glass. The bowl has subsequently acquired 2 additional splits, the first 1.5 cm, the second 1 cm along side an old repair.
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Georgian Irish Silver Sugar Bowl - Charles Townsend
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Georgian Irish Silver Sugar Bowl base
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Georgian Irish Silver Sugar Bowl hoof & shell foot
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Charles Townsend Dublin silver hallmarks
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Split to silver bowl rim
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Old silver repair and split
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Irish silver sugar bowl, scale
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