Old Irish silver is rare, highly sought after and valuable, as items available in the current Irish Antique Dealers Fair at the RDS in Dublin demonstrate. According to Mr Jimmy Weldon, proprietor of J.W. Weldon, Clarendon Street, Dublin, people may not appreciate the high value of old Irish silver that they might own. For instance, people with any item bearing a crown over the initials I.H. "should get excited - absolutely", he says.
The mark is that of John Hamilton of Dublin, "one of our premier silversmiths", who worked from about 1710 to about 1750. "We have a gorgeous, tiny, bullet silver teapot that's Irish, George I, a very rare thing." A bullet teapot is a small circular teapot - very rare in Irish silver, he explains. Dating from 1718, it was made by John Hamilton and is priced at u £35,000 (€44,439).
While it is "absolutely gorgeous, absolutely outstanding", the lay person would almost certainly not know how valuable such a piece is, he says. "Irish bullet teapots are highly desirable. There are only about 30 extant ." They date from 1701 up to 1735 "and the earlier they are the better", he says.
They're not all worth £35,000. "Some of them would be worth more. The bigger ones would be worth £50,000 or £60,000. But it's not just size. It depends on how fine the article is, if it's got good colour. That's very important. And if it has survived through the ages without being repaired and restored. It would then develop the lovely patination which this one has."
He explains that the surface of the silver absorbs tiny scratches over the years, combined with gradual oxidisation, causing metallurgical change. "Now if you polish that up like new, it loses thousands of pounds' value. And this can happen. Sometimes people doing a minor repair get a piece polished like new and it's absolutely depreciating its value."
By polishing he means being polished with abrasives on a motor. "You never do that to an old piece. You never put it on a motor . . . because it wrecks the value of it . . . If it has to be repaired or restored, give it to a restorer: don't repair it, restore it." Mr Weldon has an Irish silver presentation cup and cover that was presented by the Corporation of Kinsale to James Kearny, the representative of Kinsale in Grattan's Parliament. It stands about 14 inches high and has fine engraving, ribbons and garlands. Engraved with the arms of the Corporation of Kinsale, the inscription reads: "From the Corporation of Kinsale to James Kearny Esquire, their steady friend and faithful representative." "The presentation cup and cover is a beautiful piece of corporation plate, that is to say, bought at the time by a corporation for presentation to an individual." The corporation bought it from the Dublin silversmith Thomas Jones.
Priced at £17,500, Mr Weldon says: "It's actually quite cheap. As a piece of silver it's probably worth £10,000 or £12,000, but the inscription raises its interest because it is the corporation. It's a piece of Irish history really." A pair of Georgian Irish silver spectacles with blue-tinted glass dating from about 1810 and made by Henry Flavelle is priced at £4,500. Other Irish silver pieces include an 1803 butter dish (£4,500), a Cork silver sugar bowl (£4,000), a sauce boat (£3,700), a teapot and stand (£7,000) and a set of four 1757 Robert Calderwood candlesticks (£22,000). [SBX]
The Irish Antique Dealers Fair continues at the RDS, Dublin, today Friday, September 29th, and tomorrow from noon to 9 p.m. and on Sunday, October 1st, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. jmarms@irish-times.ie
