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My mistake, Bennett doesn't actually say who made the salver he shows on page 106 of his book.

Gordon

A very nice salver. Looking at the asymmetrical decoration around the border as well as the cartouche, it looks early Rococo so probably early to mid 1740s. Douglas Bennett shows a very similar salver to this by John Hamilton in Irish Georgian Silver, although heavier at 69 oz. and with finer chasin...

Yes, a good idea. I usually open in PS and use Levels, Curves etc but I'll try negative as well next time. These particular spoons are now disposed of though.

You may have to do some very deep digging to establish what the Beale's did prior to the mid 18th century as 1753 is the earliest Cork Trade Directory. The name of Beale is mentioned in the 1659 census with the National Library of Ireland apparently having a copy of this (NLI I 6551 Dublin) but I ha...

This morning, I was reading through an old 1972 Irish silver book by Robert Wyse Jackson and noted a reference in it relating to these stork tongs. He mentions that Dr. Kurt Ticher (an acknowledged expert on Irish silver), listed 'silver toys, sugar tongs (one 1810 stork tongs shows a baby being car...

Most likely sugar tongs although other uses are suggested. Refer http://aeneasryan.blogspot.ie/2015/03/stork-tongs-perhaps-not-so-rare.html Same photos as you posted shown there and hard to add anything to what Aeneas Ryan says in this blog. I looked up my 500 years of Irish Silver book and the stor...

Thanks for posting that Trev. I meant to ask, who do you think formed the Nicholson & Son partnership, John I and John II or John II and Nicholas? Some time soon, I'll go back to inspect pre-1791 archives and see if anything more turns up.

Gordon

Very interesting post Trev. Cork Corporation sure liked handing out freedom boxes!

Gordon

Thanks Ben and you're right, you never know what new information may turn up in the future. I hope to return to the National Library on occasions during the coming months to see what else may be lurking in those old archives. Regarding the Nicholson family of silversmiths, check out my recent post h...

As mentioned in my recent post in the Irish Hallmarks section about Carden Terry and John Williams, a notice by John Nicholson & Son on the same page of the Hibernian Chronicle, October 10, 1791 caught my eye. This relates to the business moving from 4 Castle Street to No. 53 opposite the Exchan...

Sorry for the error, her linen drapery business should read 'Jane Williams & Son'.

Thanks Trev. It's quite astonishing this went unnoticed for so long given all the research that has gone on into Cork silver. That's interesting about the payments to silversmiths only mentioning Carden Terry until 1797 when Terry & Williams was seen. If John Williams was made a partner in 1791 ...

Reference books such as Douglas Bennett’s Irish Georgian Silver and Collecting Irish Silver , Bowen & O'Brien's Cork Silver and Gold as well as auctioneers and online sources all state Cork silversmiths, Carden Terry and John Williams, entered a partnership in 1795. In Cork Silver and Gold the a...

I hadn't seen this import mark before. Thanks for posting.

Gordon

Thanks for the update. It's a truly brilliant find! Gives us hope that someday we may too stumble on a hidden treasure! I still can't see the images on the Waterford Museum site despite updating Java on my computer, so infuriating. I'll have to try another machine but thanks for the photo in your em...

I must confess I am somewhat perplexed by the maker's mark on this pair of sugar tongs and am looking for help. As you can see, it is C-T, i.e. with a pellet between the letters. This is not a known mark of Charles Townsend, who never used a pellet with his CT mark, and far as I know, he didn’t make...

I have to say I do love the auctioneer's description "These ornaments appear to relate to the legend of Loch Lein, County Kerry, in which the son of a King played cards with a giant on the banks of the loch, and used a ball of string to win his freedom and the heart of the giant's daughter.&quo...

As the symbols on the sides of the trophies show the four suits of cards, the trophies probably relate to a bridge tournament, the South of Ireland Open Bridge Congress, held every year In Killarney for which the Lough Lein Trophy is awarded to the Congress Teams event winners. It's been running for...

Can anyone please assist in identifying the families represented in the twin crests shown below. The ladle was made in Cork circa 1770-75 and the crests may be later although there is no visual evidence on the ladle to suggest an erasure of a previous crest or initials so may be original either. Pre...

Hi Scorpio, Many thanks for sharing with us the details of this delightful piece. A somewhat smaller cream jug by Carden Terry was part of the 'Cork Gold and Silver - Four Centuries of Craftsmanship' Exhibition that was held at the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery at Cork in 2005. Although the catalo...