This splendid collection embraces the great age of Irish domestic silver that extended from the closing decades of the seventeenth century until the years shortly after the Act of Union in 1800. It brilliantly illustrates the remarkable skills of Irish silversmiths and the ambitious and socially expressive choices of their clients. Although Irish silver of this period broadly follows English forms and styles, Irish preferences and sensibilities, idiosyncrasies and inventions often endow it with a vitality, strength, and beauty all its own.