Harvard Art Museums > 2016.5: Punch Bowl Vessels Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Punch Bowl (Unidentified Artist) , 2016.5,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/354737. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Gallery Text This finely decorated bowl is a veritable emblem of the interconnected 18th century: it is linked to Liverpool merchants, enslaved Africans, and Asian potters. Designed as a container for spirited punch made from imported commodities like sugar, citrus, and spice, the bowl was presented to the captain of the Molly, the trading vessel depicted in its interior. Like many ships that sailed from Liverpool, the Molly was engaged in the triangle trade, in which “success” came when the captain exchanged enslaved Africans for Caribbean sugar at a favorable rate. The decoration on the bowl’s exterior combines two iconographic systems. Images of the Greek gods of commerce (Mercury) and the sea (Neptune) blend into a highly detailed chinoiserie landscape. The roof of the large building in this scene is oddly cropped; perhaps the artist was copying an image in a print and misjudged the dimensions of the bowl. Identification and Creation Object Number 2016.5 People Unidentified Artist Title Punch Bowl Classification Vessels Work Type vessel Date c. 1755 Places Creation Place: Europe, United Kingdom, England, Liverpool Culture British Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/354737 Location Location Level 2, Room 2240, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, The Arts in the Eighteenth–Century Atlantic World View this object's location on our interactive map Physical Descriptions Medium Tin-glazed earthenware Dimensions 12 × 26.7 cm (4 3/4 × 10 1/2 in.) Inscriptions and Marks label: round, cream, with printed text: Garry Atkins inscription: center of bowl: Succeƒs to the Molly. 1755 Provenance Recorded Ownership History [Garry Atkins, London], sold; to Walton Temple, North Tyneside, England, June 15, 1990, sold [through Anderson and Garland, Auctioneers, Ltd., Newcastle, June 17, 2014, lot 88]; to [Garry Atkins, London], sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2016. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Augustus S. Cobb, by exchange and bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop, by exchange Accession Year 2016 Object Number 2016.5 Division European and American Art Contact am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Publication History An Exhibition of Pottery and Porcelain, auct. cat. (London, March 13-20, 1990), pp. 28-29, cat. no. 32, repr. p. 29 Tony Henderson, Cullercoats man's collection fetches almost £150,000 at auction, The Journal (Newcastle, June 23, 2014) Roland Arkell, Gold from Geordie shores: £150,000 collection emerges from Cullercoats bungalow, Antiques Trade Gazette: The Art Market Weekly ([e-journal], July 25, 2014) Exhibition History 32Q: 2240 18th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/09/2016 - 01/01/2050 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
