Maker, Patrick Robertson. Marked with castle, P R, thistle, and date letter Z. (_At Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh._)] This is a very meagre exposition of the art of the silversmith in Scotland, but space does not permit of further details in a volume of this size. In the examination of Scottish silver one is confronted with so much that is excellent. The subject is like Scottish poetry; one turns to the anthology of Sir George Douglas and one finds a race of nightingales. XII IRISH SILVER [Illustration: CASTER. DUBLIN, 1699. Maker, George Lyng. (Marks illustrated p. 409.)] [Illustration: LOVING-CUP, WITH HARP HANDLES. CORK, _c._ 1694. Maker, Robert Goble. (Marks illustrated p. 409.) (_By courtesy of Messrs. Harris & Sinclair, Dublin._)] CHAPTER XII IRISH SILVER The ancient art of the silversmith--The seventeenth century--The inventiveness and originality of the Irish craftsman--Eighteenth-century marks--The figure of Hibernia--The Harp and Crown--The Potato or Dish Ring. There is no doubt that the art of the goldsmith and silversmith was practised at a very early period in Ireland, as the various ornaments discovered in excavation clearly prove. There is something characteristic in this early Irish metal work, as especially noteworthy in its ripe and accomplished art as is the illumination in the Book of Kells. Old records show that goldsmiths were working in Dublin in the thirteenth century, though there is no mention of the actual formation of a guild or company till 1498. Apparently these early records do not determine what marks were in use. It is not till 1605 that mention is made of a maker’s mark and a town mark on Dublin plate. In 1637 a charter was granted to the goldsmiths of Dublin by Charles I, and it was laid down that no gold or silver was to be of less fineness than the standard of England. From 1638 onwards there appears to have been a date letter, though in some cases its use was erratic, the same stamp being used for succeeding years. In 1729 the Irish Parliament enacted that plate should be assayed by the assay master and bear the maker’s stamp, the harp crowned, and the date letter. In 1730, by the order of the Commissioners of Excise, a fourth stamp was added, the figure of Hibernia, to denote that the duty had been paid. In 1807 the sovereign’s head was ordered to be placed on all plate as a duty mark, and the figure of Hibernia was allowed to remain, so that till 1890, when the duty was taken off silver, the two duty marks ran together. But Hibernia may be regarded as a hall-mark, though that was not its original purpose.