This is a truly lovely pair of early Irish tongs. They are unusually
long, being 6.¼ inches long. They have a delightful flower engraved
pattern to the top part of the arms, Adam style. The bottom one third
of the arms is soldered onto the top half and the bowls have clearly been
cast - a most unusual way to make tongs. From the shape of the harp,
they cannot be dated later than 1786. The maker's mark is
unfortunately partially rubbed but appears as if it could be DP. Jackson, page 637, lists a DP maker's mark identifying it as Daniel Popkins,
dated 1758.Daniel Popkins is a prospect, in the absence of another 'suitable' 'DP'. Any
firm ascription presents a little bit of a problem, in that he appears in
the Dublin street directories up to 1775. I am of the opinion, having looked
closely at the combination of the Hibernia & crowned harp punches on your
tongs that they are certainly post 1773 and pre 1786.
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