A pair of Victorian Celtic point pattern tablespoons

A pair of Victorian Celtic point pattern tablespoons, The Ayrshire Rifles,

by Elizabeth Eaton, London 1855, retailed by D.C. Rait of Glasgow,

the terminals with a crest, length 22.3cm, approx. weight 4,5oz. (2)

Provenance: a Private Collection of Regimental Silver.

In response to the threat of French invasion, various independent Volunteer units emerged. The Ayrshire Rifles consisted of some fourteen individual corps by 1860. in 1880 they consolidated to form the 3rd Ayrshire Rifle Volunteers, which in 1881 became a volunteer battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.