Rare Irish Dog Nose Spoon, Kinsale 1715 by Wall

This is an extremely rare early 18th Century Irish table spoon in the dog nose pattern. Dublin spoons of this date are very rare and expensive, imagine the value of a Cork or even a Limerick piece - but Kinsale??

This spoon has a good solid feel in the hand and bears a contemporary betrothal triangle to the reverse terminal - "H" being the surname of the newly weds. The spoon has seen plenty of use and the bowl is somewhat dented with a worn tip. However it is the rarity of the marks that stands this spoon out from the crowd. It is struck twice with a clear "W" within a heart makers mark for Joseph or William Wall - both marks are shown in the photos below. See "Collecting Irish Silver" by Douglas Bennett page 192.

We have only been able to find two other Kinsale pieces of silver sold in the past 10 years and none in the past five years. The two  items are a marrow scoop and a Hanoverian Rattail table spoon, both sold  at auction for in excess of £5000.