26
[1798]. A gold memorial pendant presented to Wolfe Tone's widow, Matilda Tone.
Estimate:
€3,000 - €5,000
Sold
€5,600
Timed Auction
The Eclectic Collector
Size
3.50 by 3in. (8.9 by 7.6cm)
Description
Description: Obverse showing Cato with a sword and a scroll by Plato, with inscription on the rim 'Victrix causa deis placuit sed Victa Catoni' ('The victorious cause pleased the gods, but the defeated one pleased Cato').Reverse reads 'Presented by The Hibernian Provident Society of New York to The Worthy Relict of The Illustrious Patriot Genl. Theobald Wolfe Tone. while we lament his sufferings - we will ever cherish his memory and emulate his virtues. Octr. 1, 1807. A unique and attractive object commemorating Wolfe Tone and the 1798 Rebellion.
Note: Matilda Tone (17 June – 1849) was the wife of Theobald Wolfe Tone and was instrumental in the preservation and publication of his papers. She moved with her surviving son William from France to America for the good of his health, her other two children having died of tuberculosis. Another reason for going there was to retrieve some of Wolfe Tone's papers. She returned to France in 1810, where William had enrolled in the Cavalry School. She married Thomas Wilson in 1816 and they moved to the USA in 1817, settling in Georgetown, Washington DC. She died in 1849 and a memorial to her is in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.Matilda produced two large volumes entitled the Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone, published in May 1826. She added a memoir of her own life in Paris following his death in 1798. The book was a best-seller, and ensured the legacy of Wolfe Tone, as well as being an important contemporary document of both Irish and French revolutionary politics.
Note: Matilda Tone (17 June – 1849) was the wife of Theobald Wolfe Tone and was instrumental in the preservation and publication of his papers. She moved with her surviving son William from France to America for the good of his health, her other two children having died of tuberculosis. Another reason for going there was to retrieve some of Wolfe Tone's papers. She returned to France in 1810, where William had enrolled in the Cavalry School. She married Thomas Wilson in 1816 and they moved to the USA in 1817, settling in Georgetown, Washington DC. She died in 1849 and a memorial to her is in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.Matilda produced two large volumes entitled the Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone, published in May 1826. She added a memoir of her own life in Paris following his death in 1798. The book was a best-seller, and ensured the legacy of Wolfe Tone, as well as being an important contemporary document of both Irish and French revolutionary politics.
Condition
Obverse glass cracked, otherwise very fine, 14 carat gold, in original box of issue which is worn but complete.