Demand among collectors for quality Irish silver, particularly from the first half of the 18th century, means exceptional pieces rarely come on the market. Sotheby's has included a couple of examples in its Irish sale next month, such as a pierced and chased cake basket made by John Hamilton of Dublin around 1740.
Next week, however, Dublin auctioneer O'Reilly's is offering this very fine George II coffee pot made in the capital in 1736. Chased with elaborate rococo decoration, the pot carries the arms of the Conyngham family of Slane Castle; as an indication of the work's importance, it merited illustration in Kurt Ticher's book on Irish silver of the rococo period published in 1972. O'Reilly's expect the pot, lot 404 in the auction, to fetch £4,000-£5,000.
A large part of the sale is taken up with jewellery; lot 209, a solitaire diamond ring of some 2.1 carats with baguette and emerald shoulders (£7,500-£8,500) and lot 242, a ruby and diamond three-stone ring set in platinum (£3,000-£4,000) are typical of the entries here. However, towards the close there are a generous number of silver pieces, such as lot 398, a George III Irish silver cream jug made in Dublin by William Thompson in 1796 (£350-£400) and lot 405, a George III Irish silver tea tray made in Dublin in 1791 by Joseph Jackson (£6,000-£7,000). The sale takes place in O'Reilly's Francis Street premises on Wednesday starting at 1 p.m.
