Object Description
A handsome pair of antique silver chop tongs of long, slender form with a grooved inside surface to grip the food. Elegant plain style. Very simple and clever manufacture that would suit either a left or righted person.
Weight 126g, 4 troy oz.
Length 26.6cm, 10.5ins. Width of retainer bar 6.9cm.
Dublin 1794.
Maker John Pittar.
Marks. Stamped inside the curved end with a full set of Irish hallmarks.
Maker: John Pittar
The Pittar family was of French Huguenot origin, and established themselves in Dublin as goldsmiths on arrival in Ireland during a period of religious persecution of protestants in France.
In 1757 goldsmith John Pittar I, was admitted by service as a Freemen of the city of Dublin, having completed an apprenticeship. In 1780 his son John Pittar II, goldsmith and flatware specialist, was admitted as a freeman by birth. His mark was entered in Dublin 1784. Address 21, Ross Lne, Bride St (1784-1803), 10 Stephens Green (1804-1814), Windy Harbour (1815-1825). John junior’s son Parke Pittar, goldsmith, was admitted Freeman of the City by birth in 1807.
Due to severe economic problems in Ireland during the 19th century there was a severe decline in the market for fine silver items and many tradesmen emigrated, including Parke Pittar and possibly his father. Pittar settled in Calcutta, India, where a branch of the family traded as silversmiths (c. 1831-1848), and tried to rebuild their lives.
Records from the Landed Estate Courts Rentals that show properties previously owned by the Pittar family, sold from the 1850s and by 1901 the Irish census recorded that there were no longer any Pittar descendants in the country.
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