THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR 6 APRIL 2025

18 26 Circa 1780 portrait of a young Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763-1798) Oil on panel in a gilt carved frame. An accomplished oil, possibly a sketch for a larger portrait. Thought to have been commissioned by the Duke of Leinster, father to Lord Edward. 7 by 5.50in. (17.8 by 14cm) Condition: Fine. Provenance: According to an old handwritten inscription on paper laid down to reverse: ’A resident of Maynooth in whose house the artist lodged while engaged in painting portraits of the Duke’s family at Carton’; ’Purchased at Lynch’s auction by Mr Michael Spratt’; ’Subsequently purchased Mr J. M. Ray (Daniel O’Connell’s secretary)’; ’At whose auction it was purchased by the present owner’; Private collection. Edward Fitzgerald (1763-98), fifth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster, distinguished himself in the British army during the American War of Independence, before he entered politics and took up the cause of Irish freedom. He joined the revolutionary group the Society of United Irishmen in 1796. He reputedly supported a massacre of Peers gathered in Dublin, and his involvement in the United Irishmen’s conspiracy led to his arrest, near fatal shooting and death seventeen days later in Newgate Prison. Estimate €800-€1,200 (approx £670-£1,000) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 26 27 1783 An Irish sword of the Order of St Patrick. An Irish Sword of the Order of St Patrick Sword with tapering blade of flattened lenticular section with gilt-copper hilt engraved with shamrocks and trophies of arms and dated butterfly wing quillons engraved with the badge of the order and ‘GR’ cypher. The Order was founded by George III in 1783. Membership was limited to the Monarchy, the Viceroy of Ireland and to twenty-two Knights. Condition: Blade darkly toned, very slight corrosion, hilt retaining much original gilt, very good. Estimate €500-€700 (approx £420-£580) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 27