A pair of mid 18th century Irish silver soup tureens and covers, by Robert Holmes, Dublin, third quarter of the 18th century, of oval twin-handled form with partially fluted bodies and rope twist rims, and bearing armorial engravings on both sides, the push-fit covers also with fluted and guilloche decoration and flame finials, each supported by four rococo scroll legs and bun feet. Inscribed underneath "The Gift of Charles Campbell to ELIZABETH CALDWELL 1765" also engraved with an earlier date of 1710, and the scratch initialled weights of "54" 13" and "53"3". 105 ozt gross weight. 32.2. cm long x 20.8 cm high x 18 cm wide.

The engraved arms are those of Caldwell impaling Heywood for the marriage of Charles Caldwell (1707-1776) to Elizabeth Heywood of Liverpool. The couple had seven daughters and five sons, one son achieving the honour of being Knighted as a GCB.

Condition Report

Signs of old patches to the undersides of the covers near the rims and flanges. Also, some signs of silversmiths repairs to the underside of the covers. See corresponding images.

Both lids have a fairly vague fit on each base, I have tried swapping them over but there is still some movement.

The area on the underside where the finials is fixed shows some cracks however this is probably just a sign of the construction.

One base has a hole to the bottom of one bun foot.

The tureens wobble slightly when placed on a flat surface.

Some areas of repair