What was more important to consumers in seventeenth-century Ireland: the fashion or the function of their silver? This article disentangles the multiple and complex motivations informing the robust acquisition and consumption by individuals and institutions of a wide-ranging assortment of silverwares. Using the body of extant plate and a large array of documentary sources, this article poses and addresses several questions that have hitherto received little or no attention in the literature: How was silver used in seventeenth-century Ireland? Can we dismiss or prioritise the use value of items ostensibly acquired for symbolic, ceremonial or commemorative purposes? Did design and decoration matter? And, if so, how did this impact on value and utility? By answering these questions, this article evaluates plate as a material simultaneously facilitating functional purposes and expressing taste. This article uses these conclusions to generate a greater understanding of early modern Irish consumer society and the role of silver within this society.

对于17世纪的爱尔兰的消费者来说，更重要的是：银的时尚或功能？本文解散了多种多样的动机，这些动机促使个人和机构大量购买各种银器，从而获得了强劲的购买和消费。本文利用现存的板块和大量文献资料，提出并解决了几个迄今在文献中很少或根本没有受到关注的问题：在十七世纪的爱尔兰，白银是如何使用的？我们是否可以取消或优先考虑表面上用于象征性，礼仪性或纪念性目的的物品的使用价值？设计和装饰重要吗？如果是的话，这对价值和效用有何影响？通过回答这些问题，本文评估板是同时促进功能性目的和表达口味的材料。本文使用这些结论来加深对早期现代爱尔兰消费者社会以及白银在该社会中的作用的了解。