Limerick Silver Table Spoon with Bright-cut Plumes, 1790 MFG

Limerick-made silver is very scarce and this is a beautiful table spoon in excellent condition bearing clear marks for the west coast city.

With its Celtic Point shape and bright-cut engraved decoration, the spoon takes a typical form for a late 18th century Irish spoon, the plumes motif to the terminal is generally considered a scarce variant but was a design that was popular in Limerick. The cartouche is naively engraved with the initials "DBM" in mid-18th century style block lettering which is at odds to the flamboyancy of the bright-cutting - script engraving would be a more normal accompaniment. This all adds to the charm of what is a very rare spoon.

The spoon measures just under 9.5" long and was made by Maurice Fitzgerald; it is clearly stamped to the reverse stem with "MFG" x 2 and the "STERLING" mark. This Limerick-made spoon remains in excellent condition with crisp decoration.