Images(5)

Punch Bowl

Date1784-1794

Maker Bo'ness Pottery

OriginScotland, Bo'ness

MediumLead-glazed earthenware

DimensionsOH: 5 3/16 in.; Diameter: 12 5/16 in. (13.2 × 31.3cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, C. Thomas Hamlin III Fund

Object number2020-146

DescriptionLead glazed earthenware (creamware) punch bowl: circular punch bowl supported on footring; decorated with tortoiseshell colors using cut sponging technique to resemble pineapple or fish scales on the exterior and a cross or "X" with tortoiseshell colors on the interior; painted on the bottom "Jm" in script.
Label TextThe Bo'ness Pottery in Bo'ness (Borrowstounness), Scotland, was revolutionized under the leadership of Dr. John Roebuck. While the pottery had been making brown and red clay bodies for a number of years, when Roebuck took it over in 1784, he worked to create a more refined clay body using white clays imported from Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset and flint imported from Kent.

Cut-sponged decorated wares such as this richly decorated punch bowl were products created during Roebuck's tenure which lasted until his death in 1794. Custom records for the Bo'ness Pottery reveal that the manufactory supplied wares to numerous markets including Scotland, England, Europe, and America. This stunning punch bowl with exterior decoration mimicking a pineapple is a rare survival. It bears the initials "J m" painted in script on the underside of the foot, most likely the initials of an as-of-yet unidentified decorator at the manufactory.
InscribedPainted on the bottom "Jm" in script.