Chinese Porcelain Punch Bowl

A spectacular example of Chinese porcelain made to special order, c.1790. Over the bluish-white glaze it is decorated in grisaille, a form of painting in various shades of grey, with a view of the warehouses or hongs, of the European and American East India companies at Canton.

Inside the bowl is a picture of a three-masted ship, the Pitt, which was owned by George Mackenzie Macauley. He is almost certainly the gentleman who commissioned the bowl. After an unsuccessful attempt to become a member of the East India Company in 1784, he had the Pitt fitted out at his own expense and this bowl was probably made to celebrate this achievement.

The English East India Company was founded in 1602 and established a thriving trade with China in luxury items such as textiles, lacquer and porcelain. By the eighteenth century it became fashionable to order porcelain decorated in the European taste and several similar bowls are known decorated in multi-coloured enamels.

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