Irish provincial silver from the 18th century has always carried a certain cachet, in large measure due to its relative rarity. But as this fish server proves, the appeal may also be just as much due to quality of workmanship.
The item was made around 1770 in Cork by one of that city's finest craftsmen of the period, Carden Terry. Born in 1742, Terry started working in his appointed trade in 1758 and was made a Freeman of Cork in 1785. Much Carden Terry work is associated with his daughter Jane, who followed the same profession and had the distinction of being the only female silversmith in Cork.
With an estimate of £3,000-£5,000, this server features in a sale being conducted next Tuesday at 2 p.m. on the premises of John Weldon in Temple Bar, Dublin 2.
It is just one of a large number of silver lots, two of the others being another Cork-made item, a blow by William Reynolds dating from circa 1770 (£1,500-£2,000) and a George III silver snuff box made in Dublin around 1800 by John Keating (£800-£1,200).
The same auction also includes paintings and jewellery, the latter including a Victorian diamond solitaire three-stone ring (£6,000-£8,000) and an antique diamond flora brooch featuring old brilliant-cut and rose-cut stones (£2,400-£2,600).
