Irish Silver Rattail Spoon

Every once in a while, eBay searches do turn up some interesting silver spoons.  This is one of them, an Irish rattail tablespoon dated 1723:

Irish rattail spoon, Dublin, 1723

Close-up of crest and hallmarks.  Maker's mark I?

The spoon is actually a bit ugly.  If you look at the first photograph, you can see that the spoon bowl is not symmetrical.  The right side of the bowl extends much further past the stem than the left, which is more obvious in the photograph depicting the reverse of the spoon.  The central rib on the front of the spoon is deeper than that on its English counterparts, as is usual on Irish spoons.  From what I have observed, Irish tablespoons of this period are nine times out of ten longer than English spoons.  This one measures 8 1/4 inches in length.  The weight is fine, being 69 grams, and the crest is interesting, appearing to be a dragon or a griffin out of a mural coronet.  I haven't been able to attribute the crest to a particular family.  The maker's mark could be "IT" in a heart for Joseph Teafe, although, in Collecting Irish Silver, Douglas Bennett says that Teafe "made a large quantity of spoons from 1725 to 1748" (154).  Mr. Bennett does not state when Joseph Teafe was made a freeman of the Goldsmith's Company, and since this spoon dates to 1723, it is possible that Teafe was making spoons prior to 1725.

The seller on eBay listed this spoon as dating to 1767.  While Irish tablespoons from this period aren't super-rare, there certainly aren't as many of them on the market as English spoons of the same date, so I was happy I decided to click on the listing and found that the spoon was much earlier.  I once bought a silver cream jug from eBay which was advertised as being Irish and free from any damage or repairs.  I couldn't quite make out the date letter or the maker's mark, which should have been a clue, but I decided I had to have it in hand to make up my mind.  The seller did advertise a return policy, so I bought it.  Upon receipt, it was very obvious that there had been a repair to the spout.  I was also not convinced that the hallmarks were quite right.  I contacted the seller right away, and he agreed to a full refund of the purchase price and the shipping costs I had initially paid based on the fact the piece was not as advertised.  There are pitfalls to buying on eBay, so caveat emptor, but there is some good stuff and some great sellers out there, too and so it should not be discounted or forgotten about as a source of items for one's collection.

Sources:
Bennett, Douglas. Collecting Irish Silver. London: Souvenir Press Ltd., 1984. Print.