| INDEX | ALL SILVER |
| DESCRIPTION | Set of six Georgian solid sterling silver bright-cut Irish pointed Old English Star with rat tail pattern large teaspoons. Unusual to see Old English with a rat tail but the Irish were putting rat tails onto Fiddle pattern regularly by this period so why not? Also, with the bowl upwards, a rat tailed spoon bowl will never sit flat preferring to roll slightly to one side or the other. There is the same amount of surface micro wear all over these spoons except immediately alongside the rat tails where the rat tail prevented the spoon bowl from touching the table and to some extent the wash cloth. Thusly I am convinced that the rat tails have always been there. The engraved decoration is very crisp, almost suspiciously so but as the rest of the spoons are in exceptionally good condition with no wear it follows that the decoration should be too. I am wondering if these spoons were a commission to replace worn out or lost 18thC. examples that soon fell even further out of fashion and so never saw much action, being quickly replaced by some trendy new Fiddle with rat tail examples. This would explain the lack of wear and use of a rat tail die for the bowls. |
| SILVERSMITH | Charles Marsh, struck reasonably well on the 1825 (E) example but less well to not really there at all on the 1826s |
| DATE or HALLMARK | 1825/6 |
| ASSAY OFFICE | Dublin |
| WEIGHT in GRAMS | 96 |
| LENGTH | 6", 152mm |
| SILVER STANDARD | ·925 sterling silver |
| CONDITION | excellent, micro bumps to some bowls |
| SOLD |
| Price £128 |
| Available Old English Pattern Spoons |
| email questions to silfren@btinternet.com
telephone & text 07563 011924 experts available 24 hours every day |