Victorian Silver Mounted Glass Fish Water / Lemonade Jug FitzGerald Dukes of Leinster
A very unusual Victorian novelty silver mounted cut-glass Water or Lemonade Jug, modelled as a fish with its mouth agape, textured 'scale' and fin decoration to the body and the single handle formed as the dorsal fin, the flared base simulating the tail. The silver mount fully hallmarked and also engraved with the crest and motto of the Fitzgerald Family, Dukes of Leinster.
By Hukin & Heath, Birmingham, 1892. Retailed by Thornhill, Bond Street, London.
Also stamped with Registered Design Number: 202628
Blazon of crest:
A monkey statant ppr., environed about the middle with a plain collar and chained or.
The crest of the Dukes of Leinster derives from the legend that John Fitzgerald, First Earl of Kildare, as a baby in Woodstock Castle, was trapped in a fire when a pet monkey rescued him. The Fitzgerald's then adopted a monkey as their crest.
The motto "Crom a Boo", a traditional war cry, is believed to translate to "Crom forever" or "Crom to victory". The word "Crom" refers to the family castle (Croom), and "a Boo" is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "a buadh," meaning "victory".
The Fitzgerald family is a prominent Irish family of Hiberno-Norman and Anglo-Norman origin, with a rich history in Irish politics and land ownership. They arrived in Ireland with the Norman invasion in the 12th century and became one of the most powerful families on the island. The name "Fitzgerald" means "son of Gerald". The family traces its roots back to Gerald de Windsor, who became the male progenitor of the FitzGerald dynasty. They gained power through land grants and conquest, becoming the largest landowners in Ireland. The family is described as having become "more Irish than the Irish themselves," reflecting their assimilation into Gaelic culture and politics. Fitzgeralds have played a significant role in Irish history.
The Jug is dated 1892, so it is possible that it belonged to Gerald FitzGerald, 5th Duke of Leinster (16 August 1851 – 1 December 1893). An Aglo-Irish Peer, Leinster was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of the 4th Duke of Leinster and Lady Caroline Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, daughter of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland.
He married Lady Hermione Wilhelmina Duncombe (30 March 1864 – Mentone, France, 19 March 1895), daughter of the 1st Earl of Feversham, in London on 17 January 1884. It was not a happy marriage. She died of tuberculosis at age 30.
The decline and fall of Ireland’s premier aristocratic family – the dukes of Leinster – who, for almost 300 years, lived amidst glorious splendour in their grand Palladian mansion, Carton House, Co. Kildare, has been well documented, and from the 1870s they were engulfed by public and private events: Land War, Home Rule, the Great War, revolution, global economic collapse, sadness and madness, the consequences of the beautiful Hermione, 5th duchess of Leinster’s extra-marital affair and a profligate 7th duke.
£3,650.00
