Sterling Silver Entree Dish Presented to John Hubert Plunkett
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An important sterling silver entree dish, with early New South Wales connections: the dish and cover engraved for presentation to John Hubert Plunkett the dish bearing the inscription 'Presented To John Hubert Plunkett, Esq., M.C. Attorney General, By The People Of New South Wales, as a token of respect For his Public Character and esteem for his Private Worth, Sydney, March A.D. 1841'; the lid engraved with the Plunkett coat of arms. London assay marks, circa 1814; 29 cm across, 1750 grams. Plunkett (1802-69) arrived in Sydney from Ireland in 1832 to take up the position of Solicitor General in New South Wales. He was elevated to the position of Attorney General in 1836. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, 'He exercised important influence on general legislation, and we believe that every measure tending to equalise the social conditions and promote civil and religious liberty amidst the various, and often hostile, elements of this Colony has either been framed or supported by him'. After the Myall Creek massacre in June 1838 he extended the same protection, with the same ostentation, to the Aboriginals, when he secured the condemnation to death of six white men and one black man of Afro-Caribbean origin for the murder of a native.' To judge from his later public utterances Plunkett considered the Church Act of 1836 the most important single achievement of his public career. It definitely disestablished the Church of England and established legal equality between Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians; its provisions were later extended to Methodists, and Plunkett himself would gladly have included Jews and Independents. Plunkett was the first president of the board set up to administer this Act in 1839. From late 1841 to August 1843 Plunkett had been granted leave to attend to family affairs in Ireland. It is clearly on the occasion of his departure that this superb covered dish was presented to him. On his return in 1844 he resumed duty as attorney-general, and was one of the twelve official nominees in the newly constituted council.
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- Important - Important is a word used in the antique trade to indicate an object should be ranked above other similar objects, and is therefore more valuable.
The object could be considered important because it is by a famous designer or maker, has been shown at a major exhibition, is of exquisite workmanship, is rare or is a "one-off", was made for an important patron, and so on.
Even further up the pecking order are objects that are described in catalogue descriptions as highly important or extraordinarily important. - Engraving - The method of decorating or creating inscriptions on silver and other metal objects by marking the surface with a sharp instrument such as a diamond point or rotating cutting wheel.
- Assay / Assayed - Assaying is the testing of a metal, most commonly silver and gold to determine its ingredients and quality. In Britain, once an item of silver or gold has been assayed, a mark is stamped on it, certifying its purity. Known as hallmark, it derives its name from the Guild Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, who recieved its Charter in 1327 giving it the power to assay and mark articles of gold and silver.
- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
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