Punch Bowl

Description

The monumental size and dynamic modeling of this punch bowl showcase the sculptural capabilities of porcelain. Three figures in classical draperies encircle the bowl; they reach toward one another bearing roses and grapevines while three putti gather around a pineapple knop on the lid. Created by the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the bowl’s symbols of hospitality and celebration also reflect ideas of German national identity that emerged after the country’s unification in 1871. The masses of grapevines and leaves allude to the Rhineland, the center of German wine production.

Provenance

Commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II, Berlin, 1891 and produced in 1892 [this and the following according to Köllmann 1966, 327; dating confirmed by sketch no. VIL, Archiv Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur, Berlin]. Possibly offered at auction, Carola van Ham, Kunsthaus am Museum, Cologne, Germany, before 1966. James K. Li Collection, São Paolo, by 2019; sold, Christie’s, New York, Oct. 15, 2019, lot 160, to Jack Shear, Spencertown, NY; acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago, 2022.

Punch Bowl

Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin

Designed 1891, made 1892

Accession Number

263124

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain

Dimensions

87.7 × 78.8 × 80 cm (34 1/2 × 31 × 31 1/2 in.)

Classification

ceramics

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Jack Shear