An Irish Georgian silver basting spoon, in the Fiddle pattern, with a wonderful engraved family crest of a unicorn, this engraving is very clear. The spoon is quite large, with a generous sized serving bowl. The unicorn engraved family crest can be described as "a unicorn's head, couped, maned and horned", this is the family crest of the Cunningham family (or Conyngham), we think the Irish part of the family used Conyngham, whilst their Scottish counterparts used Cunningham. The spoon has 4 hallmarks, the crowned harp, Hibernia (Dublin marks) and date letter I for 1805 are clear and well struck. We note the punch shape on these marks is cavetto, with indented corners, more usually seen in the 1820's with Dublin hallmarks, but the absence of the Duty mark confirms a date before 1807. The makers mark JP is clear, but is overstriking another mark that is no longer visible. John Power worked between 1792 and 1819, from Trinity Place, Dublin, his father and son were also silversmith.
An Irish Provincial silver serving spoon made by Richard Garde of Cork, but hallmarked in Dublin in 1835. The spoon also has a rare retailers mark "R. CAVE", who is currently classified as unknown with location unknown, but as this mark has only been seen on silver by Richard Garde we can assume he was a Cork retailer. The spoon is Fiddle pattern with a Rat-tail, which is only seen on Irish silver during this period. The spoon is engraved with original owners initials WMC in script. The hallmarks are all very clear, the retailers mark could not be better. Given it's large size we have classified this spoon as a serving spoon, but it could have been a large tablespoon - it is certainly suitable for use as a serving spoon.
A rare and interesting pair of Irish Georgian silver Bright Cut tablespoons, engraved "Wicklow Reg", for the 37th Wicklow Regiment, part of the Irish Militia. The spoons are Old English in shape, with the traditional "Dublin Star" engraved at the top above the oval cartouche with the regimental engraving, and traditional bright cut engraving. One spoon is in good condition with one small dent, the second has small pinhead dents to the bowl, overall quite pleasing for Regimental silver spoons which often are in poor condition. One spoon has excellent hallmarks, the second spoon has clear makers mark and date letter but worn Irish marks, still visible (spoon with good hallmarks has the dents to bowl). John Shiels (or Sheils) had a long career between 1762 and 1790, given these spoons are 1797is is possible a son took over his punches. 38 Regiments of Irish Militia were established in 1793 (one from each county) after the outbreak of war with France, to free regular soldiers up and to control the Irish rebellion...
A lovely Irish Georgian silver tablespoon in the Old English pattern, with an engraved family crest for the Newton family of Dunleckney, County Carlow, featuring a Ducal coronet. The spoon has a pleasing quality, and is in excellent condition, the engraving is also crisp and clear. The crest features a boars head above Ducal coronet (with strawberry leaves), with 2 ostrich feathers above the coronet. The spoon is also engraved with owners initials N/GG on the drop. The hallmarks are clear, the makers mark JB has slight wear to the J. John Bayly worked between 1787 and 1804 (Bennett mark 204). This spoon would have been made for Colonel Philip Newton (1770-1833) and his wife Sarah when they inherited the Dunleckney estate in 1802. Note - We have a matching pair S11388.
A rare and interesting pair of Irish Georgian silver Bright Cut tablespoons, engraved "Wicklow Reg", for the 37th Wicklow Regiment, part of the Irish Militia. The spoons are Old English in shape, with the traditional "Dublin Star" engraved at the top above the oval cartouche with the regimental engraving, and traditional bright cut engraving. One spoon is in very good condition, the second has small dents to the bowl, overall quite pleasing for Regimental silver spoons which often are in poor condition. One spoon has excellent hallmarks, the second spoon has clear makers mark but worn Irish marks, still visible (spoon with good hallmarks has the dents to bowl). John Shiels (or Sheils) had a long career between 1762 and 1790, given these spoons are 1797 it is possible a son took over his punches. 38 Regiments of Irish Militia were established in 1793 (one from each county) after the outbreak of war with France, to free regular soldiers up and to control the Irish rebellion. The 37th Wicklow Regiment first saw ...
A lovely pair of Irish Georgian silver tablespoons in the Old English pattern, with an engraved family crest for the Newton family of Dunleckney, County Carlow, featuring a Ducal coronet. The spoons are a pleasing quality, and are in excellent condition, the engraving is also crisp and clear. The crest features a boars head above Ducal coronet (with strawberry leaves), with 2 ostrich feathers above the coronet. The spoons are also engraved with owners initials N/GG on the drop. The hallmarks are clear on both spoons, the makers mark JB has wear to one of the J's. John Bayly worked between 1787 and 1804 (Bennett mark 204). These spoons would have been made for Colonel Philip Newton (1770-1833) and his wife Sarah when they inherited the Dunleckney estate in 1802. Note - we have a matching spoon S 11389.
An Irish Georgian silver pair of sugartongs, decorated in bright cut engraving, and featuring the rare "Dublin Bow" engraved on both arms. The tongs are lovely quality and a good weight, they have shell grips, concave arms, and are slightly longer and heavier than their English counterparts (See Hodges, Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs, page 197, where he also states that Irish tongs of this period are beautifully made, with distinctive bright cut engraving, commanding prices 2 to 3 times more than English equivalents). The tongs are engraved with original owners initials ER in script. Bright cut engraving was popular in Ireland between 1790 and 1800, the bright cut glitters in candlelight, the Bow pattern is much rarer than the Dublin Star pattern, the Star, Bow and Prince of Wales Feathers (unique to Limerick) are unique to Irish silver. The hallmarks are clear, under the bow, makers mark BT in serrated punch for Taitt who worked between 1784 and 1791, and Irish harp and Hibernia in rounded punch used before 17...
A set of 4 Irish Georgian dessert spoons, bottom marked, with excellent hallmarks on all 4 spoons. The spoons are Old English pattern, and have an engraved family crest of an armoured arm holding a dagger, this engraving is crisp and clear. Bottom marked hallmarks, used before 1790, are seldom clear, they are often squashed, these marks are excellent. They include makers mark IK in rectangular punch with rounded corners, and without dot, according to Douglas Bennett, in his book Collecting Irish Silver, this mark could belong to 3 different silversmiths, John Kavanagh (1783-1819), John Kelly (1780-1794) or James Kennedy (1768-1803), all three of which fall in the date range. More research is required on these makers, the makers mark on these spoons are very clear.
A mixed set of 6 Irish silver tablespoons, all with excellent hallmarks. 3 spoons are Old English pattern (a matching pair by John Pittar, 1779, bottom marked, with worn shellbacks, and a spoon by Michael Keating, 1799), and 3 are Fiddle pattern (1805 by J.S, 1812 by Richard Sawyer and 1832 by Samuel Neville, this last spoon has a rat-tail. 3 spoons have engraved family crest, 2 spoons have engraved initials, and one spoon has not been engraved. All 6 spoons have well struck and clear Dublin hallmarks, and clear makers marks.
A pair of antique Irish silver sugar tongs in the Fiddle pattern, with engraved initials MMG. The tongs are a good weight and in excellent condition. The hallmarks are very clear, they could not be better. Philip Weekes worked between 1816 and 1848, he was apprenticed to Samuel Neville. The makers mark has a dot between the letters, this mark does not appear in Irish Silver by Bennett.
A mixed set of 6 Irish sterling silver spoons, 2 large mustard spoons, 2 smaller mustard spoons, and 2 small saltspoons (the last 2 a matching pair). The matching salt spoons are Dublin 1925 by Wakely & Wheeler, the 2 smaller mustard are by William Cummins (1829) and Samuel Neville (1832), the 2 larger mustard spoons are Christopher Cummins (1837) and JS (1867). 1 Spoon has a family crest, 2 have engraved initials and 3 are unengraved. All the hallmarks are clear.
A set of 6 Irish silver dessert spoons, in the Fiddle pattern with rat-tails, a feature of Irish flatware of the period. The spoons have original owners engraved initials WMH. The hallmarks on all 6 are excellent, and include makers mark IB for James Brady, who worked between 1821 and 1842. The spoons also have the retailer's mark, NEILL, which is very clear on all the spoons. Irish retailers were among the first to mark flatware, early adopters of corporate branding. NEILL was a leading Belfast retailer, first established by Robert Neill in 1803, the firm survived until 1960.
A set of 4 Irish Georgian silver tablespoons in the Fiddle pattern, made by Samuel Neville of Dublin. The spoons have no initials or engraving, and no signs of removal. The hallmarks on all 4 spoons are excellent, all individually struck. They include makers mark SN, Hibernia, Crowned Harp and date letter I for 1805. Samuel Neville worked between 1795 and 1851, he was a respected member of the community, he was Warden between 1804 and 1807 and was also elected to the Dublin City Council in 1807. He was Master in 1807 and 1827.
A set of 6 Irish Georgian silver dessert spoons in the Fiddle pattern, made by Samuel Neville of Dublin in 1804. The spoons have no initials or engraving, and no signs of removal. All 6 spoons have good hallmarks, makers mark SN for Samuel Neville (struck both ways). They also have Hibernia and Harp Crowned, and date letter H for 1804 (note absence of duty mark, only introduced in Ireland in 1807). Samuel Neville worked between 1795 and 1851, he was a respected member of the community, he was Warden between 1804 and 1807 and was also elected to the Dublin City Council in 1807. He was Master in 1807 and 1827.
An interesting early Georgian Irish Hanoverian tablespoon, made by Alexander Richards in Dublin 1764. The spoon has a frontal rib, strong turn-up and a very narrow oval bowl. It is engraved with a Griffin crest on the back of the spoon, showing this spoon was placed on the table bowl down. The spoon is bottom marked, the date letter is very clear, but the makers mark , crowned harp and Hibernia are are worn, but still discernable. Alexander Richards, a noted Irish spoonmaker, worked between 1724 and 1768 (Bennett, Irish Silver, pg 152).
Set of six Irish teaspoons, with an interesting falcon crest, in the Fiddle pattern. These spoons are larger than many other teaspoons (slightly longer and heavier). The hallmarks are very clear on all spoons.
Plain Irish meat skewer with flat blade, and shoulder pattern beneath ring. The hallmarks are very clear, note the lack of a duty mark, as duty was only introduced on Irish silver in 1808. Initials VG. Neville was an extremely well regarded Dublin silversmith, who served as Warden and Master of the Goldsmith's Company. He was elected to the Dublin City Council in 1807.
A lovely Irish silver torque, hand crafted with clearly visible hand hammered marks. This is a neck torque (as opposed to a bangle torque intended for a wrist). Torques are a traditional Celtic design. Padraig O'Mathuna worked from the lovely town of Cashel in Tipperary. Cashel is the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster.
Georgian Irish Fiddle pattern sugar tongs, with very clear hallmarks. They also have the original owners initials (W over CW) scratch engraved in 18th century style (not script). Cummins worked from 1813 to 1846, so these tongs were made very early in his career. He worked from 31 Exchequer Street, and his name was also recorded as Cumying.
A rare Irish silver Freedom Box, engraved with the coat of arms of the city of Londonderry, in Northern Ireland. Freedom boxes are typically Irish, and were used as presentation pieces to distinguished non- residents who received the honorary freedom of the city (Bennett, Collecting Irish Silver). Example from Dublin, Youghal, Limerick and Cork are known (Bennett), Londonderry is rare. The coat of arms includes a skeleton sitting on a hill, with a turreted castle, and the George Cross and dagger of London above. The skeleton is thought to represent starvation during the great siege. The city motto "Vita Veritas Victoria" (Life, Truth, Victory) is engraved below. The engraving quality is superb, with delicate flowers and chased C scrolls. The decorated lid is a separate panel that has been set into a presumably plain table snuff box. The box has a curved thumbpull for easy opening, and is gilded interior and exterior, with exception of the base. The only hallmarks present are the makers mark (struck twice, on ...
