Punch Bowl (c. 1769): Artwork and History

Punch Bowl (c. 1769) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Artist unknown (Chinese, made for the American market) China.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

This bowl displays portraits copied from a broadside printed in London in June 1768. The portraits depict the Englishmen John Wilkes (left), an outspoken advocate of political reform and American liberty, and Lord Mansfield (right), who tried to silence Wilkes with charges of libel. Satirical coats of arms surround their portraits. Wilkes is flanked by his close associates and defenders, while Lord Mansfield appears with George III and the devil by his side. American colonists viewed Wilkes as an avatar of liberty and free speech.

Object facts

• Title: Punch Bowl
• Date: c. 1769
• Artist attribution: Artist unknown (Chinese, made for the American market) China
• Place of origin: China
• Medium: Hard-paste porcelain, glaze, with enamels in colors, and gilding
• Dimensions: 11.1 × 26.4 cm (4 3/8 × 10 3/8 in.)
• Type: Ceramics
• Department: Arts of the Americas
• Reference number: 1958.239

Collection credit

Bequest of Frederick S. Colburn

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.