M arch, 1921 
31 
Potato rings are round circles of'silver, not unlike enlarged napkin rings except 
that the base is slightly larger than the top. The potato bowl was set in them. 
They gave an excellent opportunity for the silversmith’s skill 
The first is a coffee spoon showing 
unusual decorations on handle and 
bowl; the second a sugar spoon. 
Both from the 18th Century 
longings to make! Would that I could 
honestly tell you it would be safe to 
deliberate over the projected purchase 
of such a piece if one came upon it! 
Alas! Times have changed, Cousin 
Bridget, have sprightly changed, 
Charles, since those who had nothing to 
do but walk into Colnaghi’s didn’t, and 
you could flatten your noses against the 
panes and run a slow race for your 
heart’s desire, almost sure to win. 
Times have changed! Those who can 
walk into Colnaghi’s do, and into every 
other place under the sun where the 
The sugar sifter, which is of elabor¬ 
ate design, and the coffee spoon both 
were made in the 18th Century by 
Irish silversmiths 
treasures they seek are apt to be found. 
We may still discover precious books, 
rare prints, delectable china, a thou¬ 
sand and one other things dear to the 
collector’s heart here, there and else¬ 
where in Bargain Land, but old Irish 
Silver before 1750—it seems cruel to 
break faith in miracles. 
How be it, may there not chance to 
exist those who can find some satisfac¬ 
tion in collecting with the Inner Eye? 
Some too who may discover in their 
ancestral or nearly ancestral posses- 
(Continued on page 78) 
Tankards are 
not an unusual 
form to find in 
Irish silver 
Lion feet give 
this cream pitch¬ 
er its unusual 
aspect 
In this group are found some of the more ambitious pieces of Irish bread basket, a punch bowl, two standing cups with covers and a sal- 
silver, all of it from the rare 18th Century. Here is an epergne, a ver. Illustrations by courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 
