FINE JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & COINS 28th May 2025 at 12pm

8 HENR I SOUF F LOT A N D F R E N C H S I L V E R A T O ’ R E I L L Y ’ S Here at O’Reilly’s, we pride ourselves on having an interesting collection of Irish and English silver in each auction, but this month we have a par ticularly nice lot of silver all the way from France. Lot 480 is an impressive antique French coffee service, comprising a coffee pot, milk jug, sugar bowl, and a teapot, together with a silver plated serving tray. Silver has a long history in the decorative ar ts in France, with the first appearance noted in the 12th century. However, it was not until the reign of King Louis XIV in the 17th century the silver became a popular and sought after material. Louis XIV’s throne in Versailles was even made out of silver - which he had melted down in 1689 as the country was in a financial crisis due to the Nine Years’War! Due to the demand by the king to have large pieces of silver melted to contribute to the French economy, many silver items from this time are hard to come by and are highly-valued.This contributes to the desire to keep later French silver items intact as so many earlier were lost to this edict, par ticularly when they are as beautiful and highly detailed as Lot 480. Lot 480 LIVE AUCTION OF FINE JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & COINS • WEDNESDAY, 28th MAY 2025 AT 12PM