Monteith Bowl (1715–16): Art, History and Details

Monteith Bowl (1715–16) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Benjamin Pyne (English, active 1693–1727).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This bowl’s notched rim allows for glasses to be suspended in water for cooling and cleansing between courses during a long dinner. The rim can be removed and the bowl used for punch as well. A year before Benjamin Pyne began this bowl, he was appointed Subordinate Goldsmith to the King in preparation for George I’s coronation (r. 1714–1727). Like much of his work, this Monteith bowl is characterized by its scale and simplicity.

Object facts

• Title: Monteith Bowl
• Date: 1715–16
• Creator attribution: Benjamin Pyne (English, active 1693–1727)
• Culture: England, London
• Type: Silver
• Technique: silver gilt
• Dimensions: Diameter: 32.9 cm (12 15/16 in.); Overall: 26.9 x 37.5 cm (10 9/16 x 14 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1965.467

A detail from the museum

The name Monteith is said to come from a mythical Scotsman named Monteigh, who wore cloaks with a similar notched pattern.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Corning

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. "Golden Anniversary Acquisitions: September 10 through October 16." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 53, no. 7 (September 1966): 181-284.
• Birk, Eileen F. "Current and Coming - Anniversary Year Celebrations." Antiques 90 (September 1966).
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.