Images(3)

Punch Bowl

Dateca. 1760

OriginEngland, Liverpool

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft)

DimensionsDiam.: 10 3/4" OH: 4"

Credit LineGift of Gerald Brill

Object number1990-184

DescriptionPunch bowl with short cylindrical foot ring. Bluish tin glaze decorated on the exterior with sprays of flowers in the Fazackerly manner descending from the rim in yellow, mixed green, blue, manganese, and red. On the interior, the inscription "To sweethearts And wives" in blue.
Label TextThe exterior of this punch bowl is decorated so that the design is right side up when the bowl is stored upside down. Contemporary prints show punch bowls stored in this way on shelves behind public house bars. The interior of the bowl is inscribed "To sweethearts / --And wives--," a toast said to have been particularly popular with sailors. The inscriptions on the bases of two punch bowls excavated in Tidewater Virginia express similar sentiments: one, though incomplete, appears to be the same as the inscription here; the other reads "Success to the Lasess."
Inscribed"To sweethearts And wives" in blue on the interior of the bowl.
MarkingsNo
ProvenanceBrill's Antiques