Bowl
Category
Ceramics
Date
1750 - 1760
Materials
tin glazed earthenware
Measurements
100 mm (Height); 193 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Liverpool
Order this imageCollection
Hill Top, Cumbria
NT 641469
Summary
Punch bowl, tin glazed earthenware (delftware), open form with short pedestal foot and slightly flaring lip, British, 1750-60; hand painted in cobalt blue to the exterior with stylised flowers and tendrils, a border pattern of double crosses between two lines below the rim, concentric lines to the lower body, the interior inscribed at the bottom of the well 'fill Every man his Glass' with two parallel concentric lines mid-body.
Full description
This bowl was probably made for punch and is made from delftware – a type of earthenware with white glaze made from tin, which makes it perfect for hand painting with blue cobalt. The inside of the bowl is inscribed ‘fill Every man his Glass’ – the warm, alcoholic punch would be taken from the bowl using a ladle and poured into glasses. This bowl is relatively small and was probably meant for sharing punch between two people. Research into the collection of ceramics at Hill Top by has not revealed any direct evidence, such as bills, for purchases of ceramics by Beatrix Potter. However, there are other types of primary written evidence – for example, letters, journal entries and inventories – that we can draw upon to help build a picture of how her collection was formed and what she liked. Thanks to a letter written to her friend, this delftware punch bowl is a pot that we understand a little better than many in the collection. Beatrix bought it in July 1940 at a Mr. Ellwood's sale in Coniston, she writes: I do love old furniture and old china – especially earthenware. I got a Bristol punch bowl, early 18th century, in the sale. It has written in the bottom, 'Fill every man his glass'. 4/6 with 7 assorted articles, some useful. It has been repaired but it gives me pleasure; decorated in the Chinese style, in cobalt and manganese. (1) This letter gives a direct insight into what Beatrix loved most: old earthenware, which had been a passion since she was a teenager. It also tells us that condition was secondary to the pleasure a piece could give her (many pieces listed in the 1946 inventory of Hill Top were damaged) and that she was still collecting ceramics in the last few years of her life. Writing a year before her death, Beatrix again mentions the punch bowl – her affection for her ceramics collection and the memories pieces evoked are very clear: Here am I – a cheerful old woman sitting up in bed – staring at the china-cupboard opposite. Cornflower and gold Crown Derby, Whieldon glaze, Staffordshire greyhound, old Bristol punch bowl – ‘Fill every man his glass’, and lustre among them holding its own, a willow pattern mustard pot – a little mug shaped pot with lid and handle – Seventy eighty years ago it belonged to another old woman, old Katie McDonald, the Highland washer woman. (2) (1) Crowell Morse (ed.), 1982, p. 118, letter of 30 July 1940 to Bertha Mahony Miller(2) Cited in Linder, 1971, p. 159
Provenance
Bought July 1940 at Mr. Ellwood's sale in Coniston (B. Potter's Americans p.118, letter of 30 July 1940 to Bertha Mahony Miller), 'I do love old furniture and old china, especially earthenware. I got a Bristol punch bowl, early 18th century, in the sale. It has written in the bottom, 'Fill every man his glass'. 4/6 with 7 assorted articles, some useful. It has been repaired but it gives me pleasure; decorated in the Chinese style, in cobalt and manganese'.
Marks and inscriptions
Fill every man his glass