Punch Pot
ca. 1755-1760 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Punch pots were an invention of the mid-18th century, which followed exactly the form of contemporary Staffordshire teapots.
Ownership & Use
Unlike punch bowls, included in pictures of riotous parties and their attendant paraphernalia, no contemporary illustrations exist of punch pots in use.The main ingredients of punch are spirits, sugar, nutmeg, spices and water. It can be assumed that punch pots were invented as a more refined means of dealing with this hot alcoholic beverage.
Materials & Making
The invention of the punch pot was surely closely linked with the introduction of red stoneware teapots in Staffordshire about 1750.These teapots, which were favoured by the Chinese for their ability to withstand the flame of a spirit-lamp, were ideal for making punch and keeping it hot. The same characteristics were shared with Staffordshire white salt-glazed stoneware, which in turn could be changed from a utilitarian object to a luxury product by the addition of elaborate enamel decoration. This pot has been decorated by one of the talented but anonymous independent decorators whose idiosyncratic style may be recognised on porcelain and opaque-white glass of the period.
Punch pots were an invention of the mid-18th century, which followed exactly the form of contemporary Staffordshire teapots.
Ownership & Use
Unlike punch bowls, included in pictures of riotous parties and their attendant paraphernalia, no contemporary illustrations exist of punch pots in use.The main ingredients of punch are spirits, sugar, nutmeg, spices and water. It can be assumed that punch pots were invented as a more refined means of dealing with this hot alcoholic beverage.
Materials & Making
The invention of the punch pot was surely closely linked with the introduction of red stoneware teapots in Staffordshire about 1750.These teapots, which were favoured by the Chinese for their ability to withstand the flame of a spirit-lamp, were ideal for making punch and keeping it hot. The same characteristics were shared with Staffordshire white salt-glazed stoneware, which in turn could be changed from a utilitarian object to a luxury product by the addition of elaborate enamel decoration. This pot has been decorated by one of the talented but anonymous independent decorators whose idiosyncratic style may be recognised on porcelain and opaque-white glass of the period.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Salt-glazed stoneware, painted in enamel colours |
| Brief description | Salt-glazed soneware punch-pot of globular form painted with Chinese figures. British (Staffordshire), about 1755-60. |
| Physical description | Punch-pot of globular form, with a crabstock handle, spout and a handle to the lid. Painted with chinese figures in colours in which blue and crimson predomainate; with rich scolled and diapered borders around the lid and the opening at the top. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
The rusticated 'crabstock' handles and spouts are faithfully copied from Chinese red stonewares. The painting of the Chinese figures, however, is wholly fanciful and verges on caricature. Staffordshire potters first developed this type of white stoneware in about 1715 in imitation of Chinese porcelain.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Mr Wallace Elliot |
| Object history | London, Stoner & Evans, 1929. From the G.M. Bles Collection. Formerly the Boynton Collection. |
| Summary | Object Type Punch pots were an invention of the mid-18th century, which followed exactly the form of contemporary Staffordshire teapots. Ownership & Use Unlike punch bowls, included in pictures of riotous parties and their attendant paraphernalia, no contemporary illustrations exist of punch pots in use.The main ingredients of punch are spirits, sugar, nutmeg, spices and water. It can be assumed that punch pots were invented as a more refined means of dealing with this hot alcoholic beverage. Materials & Making The invention of the punch pot was surely closely linked with the introduction of red stoneware teapots in Staffordshire about 1750.These teapots, which were favoured by the Chinese for their ability to withstand the flame of a spirit-lamp, were ideal for making punch and keeping it hot. The same characteristics were shared with Staffordshire white salt-glazed stoneware, which in turn could be changed from a utilitarian object to a luxury product by the addition of elaborate enamel decoration. This pot has been decorated by one of the talented but anonymous independent decorators whose idiosyncratic style may be recognised on porcelain and opaque-white glass of the period. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.81&A-1938 |
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| Record created | June 23, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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