Artifact: Punch Bowl
Materials: Stoneware with salt glaze and enamel
Dimensions: Height: 3 1/2 in. Diameter: 8 7/8 in.
Date: Circa 1750
Origin: Staffordshire, England
Collection: LACMA
License: Public Domain
Ledger Entry: Punch Bowl
Department: Foodways
Customer: John Kirkpatrick
Ledger Page: 378
Imported From: Delineated as "China" it was one of the few pieces in the database of more expensive porcelains exported from China and probably sold by the East India Company in London in smaller parcels to merchants and repackaged in shipments to the colonies. However, porcelain in general would have been imported from England.
Product Description
Punch bowls, commonly ranging in size from pint to two quart, were used to serve a mix of alcohol (usually rum), lemons or limes, and juices. These bowls could be passed from drunken mouth to hand in taverns. More polite punch drinking might occur at home.
Citation: Philippa Glanville and Sophie Lee, ed., The Art of Drinking (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2007); Robin Hildyard, "Toasts and Loving Cups, 1640-1830," in Elegant Eating: Four Hundred Years of Dining in Style, ed. Philippa Glanville and Hilary Young (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002), 104-107.
Historical Price: 6 shillings; Modern USD: $67.3
Product Variations
John Kirkpatrick purchased the only punch bowl in William Ramsay's ledger. He bought the bowl on November 10, 1755.
