I believe it was made in Cork as the family lived there for many years. I also understand that it has been in the family since it was made - it has the family crest on it.
(click on thumbnails to see enlargements)
(Admin edit, images too large)
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Irish marks
Irish marks
Can anyone help me identify the date and maker of this coffee/chocolate pot?
I believe it was made in Cork as the family lived there for many years. I also understand that it has been in the family since it was made - it has the family crest on it.
(click on thumbnails to see enlargements)
(Admin edit, images too large)
.
I believe it was made in Cork as the family lived there for many years. I also understand that it has been in the family since it was made - it has the family crest on it.
(click on thumbnails to see enlargements)
(Admin edit, images too large)
.
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dmay
Irish Silver
Yes, I actually posted two photos but this is my first time and I am not a tecchie!! Don't know what happened to the other one which is of the bottom of the pot and shows the marks..
The name WALSH is stamped on the bottom, also STERLING. No other marks that I can see.
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The name WALSH is stamped on the bottom, also STERLING. No other marks that I can see.
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dmay
First, I believe that your pot is actually a coffee pot. Chocolate pots would have a removable finial to allow a stirrer to keep the chocolate mixed, and it does not appear from the photo that the finial is removable.
Also, chcocolate pots went out of favor after about 1750 (apparently b/c the cost of coffee and tea went down!), and for reasons below, your pot dates later than that.
Stephen Walsh worked from approximately 1760-1780 in Cork. The style of your coffee pot is consistent with these dates-it is in the neo-Classical style that was popular during that time period, which is in contrast with the more ornate decorative chasing that was popular in Irish silver in the 1740's and 1750's. The style of the pot would put it in the late 1760's to 1770's, when the style of coffee pots changed from more cylinder shaped body and flatter lids to the bulged body and domed lid and foot of your pot. The punched rim shown on the lid and foot of your pot is also a trademark Cork design of that same period.
While I have not been able to find another example of Walsh's work in my resource books, if you want to see similar examples from the time period, I would recommend trying to find a copy of Kurt Ticher's Irish Silver in the Rococo Period. There was also an exhibition of Cork silver at the Crawford Municipal Museum in Cork, which ended a couple of months ago. There was a catalog of the exhibit, which I haven't gotten yet, but I am told it is a good resource book. I have seen the catalog for sale on certain commercial auction sites, but as with all books on Irish silver, it is somewhat expensive.
A very nice piece!
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Also, chcocolate pots went out of favor after about 1750 (apparently b/c the cost of coffee and tea went down!), and for reasons below, your pot dates later than that.
Stephen Walsh worked from approximately 1760-1780 in Cork. The style of your coffee pot is consistent with these dates-it is in the neo-Classical style that was popular during that time period, which is in contrast with the more ornate decorative chasing that was popular in Irish silver in the 1740's and 1750's. The style of the pot would put it in the late 1760's to 1770's, when the style of coffee pots changed from more cylinder shaped body and flatter lids to the bulged body and domed lid and foot of your pot. The punched rim shown on the lid and foot of your pot is also a trademark Cork design of that same period.
While I have not been able to find another example of Walsh's work in my resource books, if you want to see similar examples from the time period, I would recommend trying to find a copy of Kurt Ticher's Irish Silver in the Rococo Period. There was also an exhibition of Cork silver at the Crawford Municipal Museum in Cork, which ended a couple of months ago. There was a catalog of the exhibit, which I haven't gotten yet, but I am told it is a good resource book. I have seen the catalog for sale on certain commercial auction sites, but as with all books on Irish silver, it is somewhat expensive.
A very nice piece!
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Irish Marks
Thanks very much for such an informative reply. The filial is removable, fastened with a chain which is fixed by a pin.
It has been in the family since it was made as it has the family crest engraved on it, but unfortunately the inventories of the period were destroyed a few years ago.
(Admin edit - see Guidelines)
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It has been in the family since it was made as it has the family crest engraved on it, but unfortunately the inventories of the period were destroyed a few years ago.
(Admin edit - see Guidelines)
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dmay