(By courtesy of Messrs. Harris & Sinclair, Dublin.)
In the year 1740, when Frederick of Prussia seized the rich country of Silesia, young Oliver Goldsmith sat at the feet of his schoolmaster, that old soldier of fortune, Thomas Byrne, who had served with our army in Spain. He listened to “the exploits of Peterborough and Stanhope, the surprise of Monjuich, and the glorious disaster of Brihuega,” and he lent an ear to the stories of “the great Rapparee chiefs, Baldearg O’Donnell and galloping Hogan.” At fifteen he entered Trinity College, Dublin, as a poor scholar. To-day he rests on College Green, one of Ireland’s proud monuments. At this date the silversmith was doing great things; the Metropolitan Museum at New York has a fine centre-piece of these far-off days. It will be seen in the illustration ([p. 335]) to what refinement the art of the Dublin silversmith had attained. The maker is Robert Calderwood, and in such a specimen claims recognition for craftsmanship of a very high order. His mark is R. C. with a small crown between the letters, and his work is always prized by collectors.
A cream-jug, made by John Hamilton, of Dublin about the same date (illustrated [p. 339]), may be compared, to the advantage of the Irish craftsmen, with work of the same period wrought in England or Scotland. There is a suggestion in the handle of the old harp design of the loving-cup, but the rich chasing and exquisite ornamentation of the body exhibit the finest touches of the silversmith’s art.
On the same page a fine cream-jug made by Jonathan Buck of Cork, in 1764, is illustrated, and the marks are given on [page 409]. It is minutely signed in full under the lip, “Jonathan Buck, 1764.” The mark has a buck in a shield. The handle in this piece still lovingly adheres to the harp form, delightfully adapted to this graceful vessel. We may conjecture that this was a wedding gift to some bride, as the figures of the goddess Venus and Cupid are in fine relief. Such an example is unique with its elaborate chased and repoussé work.
The cream-pail (illustrated [p. 343]) is of Dublin make, about 1770. There is strong classic influence. The drapery, the medallion rosette, and the key pattern of the incised work, all tell of the prevailing fashion. It is as classic as the doorways on the Quays at Dublin. But there is a robustness in Irish classicism which establishes it as something not merely copied as a prevailing fashion but embodied in the handiwork of the craftsman. Perhaps the Latinity of the old faith imparted a cosmopolitan kinship to the metal-workers and carvers and art craftsmen of Ireland. They always realized to the full continental fashions when the wave of importation reached their shores. The delights of Gallic or Italian artists became at once acclimatized.
The potato ring or dish stand is a form of Irish silver not made elsewhere. They were rings of metal upon which old Oriental bowls were placed to prevent the hot vessel injuring the polished surface of the mahogany table. They were possibly used later to support wooden bowls for holding potatoes. Genuine Irish examples are always circular. They belong to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Bowl and dish were synonymous terms in those days, hence they are sometimes called “Dish Rings.” There are three types: (1) The plain pierced. (2) Pierced work, ornamented with flowers and birds and pastoral scenes. (3) Basket work formed of round wire twisted, or flat square wire strips interlaced.
CREAM-PAIL. DUBLIN, c. 1770.