Punch Bowl

Description

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.

Provenance

Joseph J. Carbone, Boston, by 1954; sold to Frederick Standish Colburn (1878–1957), Evanston, IL, 1954; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1958.

Punch Bowl

Chinese export porcelain

c. 1769

Accession Number

7830

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain, glaze, with enamels in colors, and gilding

Dimensions

11.1 × 26.4 cm (4 3/8 × 10 3/8 in.)

Classification

punch bowl

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Bequest of Frederick S. Colburn