Beschreibung:

AN IMPORTANT IRISH 20 CARAT GOLD PRESENTATION STRAWBERRY DISH, by William Egan & Sons, of Cork, Dublin 1966, incuse stamped �20� and also bearing the 1916-1966 �The Sword of Light� jubilee mark, the centre engraved with the arms and motto of the city of Cork and surrounded by a fluted and scalloped rim, contained in a green velvet-lined mahogany box, with applied plaque, stamped �EGAN CORK� and engraved with inscription �Presented to E.A. McGuire, Esq., on the Occasion of the completion of his 25th year as President of �The Federated Union of Employers by the members of the Cork Area Branch 1941-1966�, diameter 14cm, weight 390gms. �12,000 - 15,000 Provenance: Presented to Edward Augustine McGuire at the A.G.M. of the Cork branch of the Federated Union of Employees (F.U.E) in January 1967 and thence by family descent. Edward Augustine McGuire (1901-1992), Fine Gael senator (1948-68) was an Irish statesman; a great businessman, collector and philanthropist. His main commercial activity was as owner and Chairman of Brown Thomas department store. He was funder, patron and president of the F.U.E for thirty years until 1969. He was also involved in the Drapers Chambers of Trade; Dublin Chamber of Commerce; the National Bank of Ireland; Bank of Ireland Ltd and the Automobile Association of Ireland. He made time to offer his services to various charity institutions, he was on the Board of Governors of the Rotunda Hospital; Fellows of the Royal Society of Antiquaries; on the Board of Governors and Guardians National Gallery of Ireland and a member of The Arts Council, 1952-56. His art collection was renowned for both its variety and quality. An article in the Irish Tatler and Sketch (October 1955) stated: �His house in Blackrock contains an almost bewildering profusion of lovely and valuable things, early Chelsea china, French glass pictures, Belgian religious carvings, an El Greco an early Reynolds, and a unique table service of the nineteenth century Waterford glass.� He surrounds �himself with beautiful objects, pictures, tapestries or china, whether he is in the Director�s office of his department store or in his Georgian house [Newtown] five miles south of Dublin.� His commitment to the Arts was not simply giving his time but also more concrete; he donated a Tintoretto to the National Gallery of Ireland and his unique Waterford table service to the place of his birth, Waterford. Much of the collection was sold in a major sale in 1976. McGuire also had success in the sporting arena: he was an Irish Davis Cup Team Player, 1924-37 and was involved with the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club,1937-53. His love of golf lead him to build a private course at Newtown. William Egan and Sons Ltd were founded in 1910, some forty years after the end of silversmithing in Cork. The company only just survived the upheaval of the Irish Civil War in 1922. An account of this time by Barry M Egan is published in Bennett (Irish Georgian Silver, p.233ff.). The chaos of war meant that Egans could not send their silver items to Dublin for assaying and had to create a Cork Republican Mark. A rare and special item, we are only aware of one other of these dishes which was presented to Eamon de Valera. AN IMPORTANT IRISH 20 CARAT GOLD PRESENTATION STRAWBERRY DISH, by William Egan & Sons, of Cork, Dublin 1966, incuse stamped �20� and also bearing the 1916-1966 �The Sword of Light� jubilee mark, the centre engraved with the arms and motto of the city of Cork and surrounded by a fluted and scalloped rim, contained in a green velvet-lined mahogany box, with applied plaque, stamped �EGAN CORK� and engraved with inscription �Presented to E.A. McGuire, Esq., on the Occasion of the completion of his 25th year as President of �The Federated Union of Employers by the members of the Cork Area Branch 1941-1966�, diameter 14cm, weight 390gms. �12,000 - 15,000 Provenance: Presented to Edward Augustine McGuire at the A.G.M. of the Cork branch of the Federated Union of Emplo