The pseudo-armorial shields upon the punchbowl contain portraits of John Wilkes (1727-1797), the radical politician and William Murray, Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793), Lord Chief Justice and head of the English legal system. Below John Wilke's shield is a misspelled motto reading 'Always rstady [sic] in a good cause'] ['Always ready in a good cause']. On either side of his shield are his supporters Sergeant Glynn, his legal advisor, and Lord Temple, his patron and friend. The second shield, of William Murray, has a crest of a snake rising from thistles as an emblem for Scotland and the motto 'Justice sans pitie' ['Justice without mercy']. At the side of his shield are the supporters Lord Brute, prime minister in 1762-1763, and the devil. Above both figures are the words 'Wilkes & Liberty.'

The portraits upon the bowl are based on paintings by Robert Edge Pine, reproduced in a mezzotint by William Dickenson, while the painting of Mansfield is based on the painting by Joshua Reynolds and reproduced as an etching by Henry Hoppner. The bowl was commissioned by Wilke's supporters against Wilke's arrest in 1763 for publishing an article against the policies of King George III and Prime Minister Brute. He fled the country but was imprisoned in 1768 upon his return. These portraits were copied from the illustrations from the printed letter written by Wilkes within prison to the voters of Middlesex who had elected him to Parliament.