The Irish Silver tankard by the Cork maker Robert Goble sold for $31,250 in New York.
WHAT was billed in New York as a George II silver tankard turned out to be a Cork piece and sold for more than 30 times its top estimate. Lot 292 at the Doyle New York sale of important furniture and Old Master paintings was a silver tankard of cylindrical form with rubbed marks. It was estimated at $700-1,000. The catalogue noted that further research indicated it might be of Irish origin.
Irish silver dealers immediately recognised the Cork marks when photos of the eight inch high tankard appeared on the internet just days before the auction. They were outbid at the sale by the international trade and it was knocked down for $31,250 including buyers premium.
The tankard is a Queen Anne/George I piece. It was made in Cork by Robert Goble, who worked in the city from 1672 to 1719. It was marked with his initials and with the two castles and gallery mark based on the Arms of the City of Cork used by local silversmiths. Robert Goble, the maker of the 1696 Mace of the Trade Guilds of the City of Cork now at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, died in 1719 and is buried in the Huguenot Cemetary on French Church St. in the heart of the city.