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Silver Pap Boat

The Buck Family of Silversmiths of Limerick &amp; Cork.
Adam Buck is believed to have obtained his freedom from the Dublin Goldsmiths Company in February 1690 - upon payment of a £2.00 fine. It is thought he worked in Dublin, but after being fined for failing to attend meetings at Goldsmiths Hall, he set up his business at Limerick. Assays noted by the Dublin Goldsmith Company for goods received from Adam Buck of Limerick were noted in 1694, 1705 - 1709 and 1712 - 1713.
Adam may have been the son of George Buck, a Burgess of Limerick, who may have also been George Bockendoght, Sheriff of Limerick in 1670, if the same then the Anglicising of the name suggests the family having Flemish or Dutch origins. Adam Buck’s will was proved at Limerick in 1725. He is likely to be the father of Jonathan Buck Sr.
Jonathan Buck Sr. was baptised in Dublin in 1691. Jonathan became a well-established silversmith working in Limerick and was granted the Freedom of the city of Limerick in 1731. The whole family moved to Cork between 1743 and 1755. In 1755 he placed an advertisement which stated he was working out of “Mr Phillips, apothecary, near Peter’s Church, makes and chaces all kinds of silverwork “
He married Faith in 1722 and they had a large family of around 16 children over the next 20 years. Jonathan died at Castle Street, Cork on 23rd October 1762 and Faith, died in Dublin on 24th February 1766, she is thought to have continued the business for a few years after his death.
Amongst these children were one of the eldest, Andrew Buck (c. 1725 - 1795), and Jonathan Buck (1730 - 1786).
Jonathan Buck Jr. (1730 - 1786) followed in his father's footsteps and became a silversmith in Limerick. He married Elizabeth in 1751, at St John’s Limerick and became a Freeman of the city of Limerick in 1762. He also relocated to Cork and became a Member of the Cork Goldsmiths Company in 1768. Premises noted at Batchelor’s Quay, near North Gate in 1769 and Fenn’s Quay in 1787. Buck Jr died at Fenn’s Quay, Cork on the 25th November 1786, he was buried at Christchurch. His wife Elizabeth passed away in 1817. Two of their children, Adam Buck (b. 1759, d. 1833) and Frederick Buck (b. 1771, d. 1840) were miniaturists and portrait painters of excellent reputation.

Jonathan Buck

Antique Silver George II Limerick Pap Boat made in c.1740

Silver pap boats are small shallow vessels which look rather like a sauceboat without a handle or any feet. We have often seen reference to them being made in the seventeenth century but have never seen an example in silver before the George 1 period (1714 -1726) in over 40 years. But what is a pap boat? There has been quite a lot of debate over the years about what their actual use is. There seems in most likelihood a multi-functional aspect to their usage. The word pap apparently is derived from Scandinavia where it mimicked the sound a baby made when it opens its mouth for food. Pap was often a mixture of bread, water and milk and various other ingredients and was essentially a precursor of today’s baby foods. It was almost certainly used as well to administer medicines to the sick and the infirm as well as to feed infants. Their usage seems to be discontinued in the mid nineteenth century

Silver Pap Boat

Silver Pap Boat

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