A Wonderful Colonial Red Earthenware Punch Bowl Inscribed with the Year "1769"

I have previously written about an eighteenth century red earthenware punch bowl in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, which was also published in a feature story I wrote for the October 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest, entitled, The Red Earthenware Available in the 18th and 19th Centuries in New York City.

According to the Brooklyn Museum, "This bowl is rare for its extraordinary size and its political inscription. Celebrating the launching of a new ship, the inscription around the top reads, 'Success to the Trade and Navigation in All Free States - North (Hudson) River' with 'August 17, 1792-Albany Packet Two Brothers.' 

However, the inscription at the bottom reads 'Freedom to the G.W.' This abolitionist sentiment reflects a late-eighteenth century plan to gradually emancipate all enslaved African people. 'G.W.' may refer to George Washington, who was sympathetic to this plan, although he remained a slave owner until he died in 1799. His will freed the enslaved people he owned in his household."

Furthermore, an early-nineteenth century stoneware punch bowl with elaborate incised decoration, attributed to John Crolius, Jr. (1755-ca. 1835) in Manhattan is in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. The museum describes this object as a bowl that was probably produced as part of a special commission. "It is dated 1811 and bears the name Elisabeth Crane. The Crane family, for whom Cranetown (now Montclair) was named, was probably known to the Croliuses from their time of residence in that area. The form of the bowl is inspired by Chinese export porcelain of the period, and the exterior is emblazoned with elaborate foliate cobalt decoration. When the bowl was emptied of its refreshment, a beautiful cobalt full-bodied fish on the interior would be revealed."

But of all these great domestic punch bowls in museum collections, there is a lesser known example owned by the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. I believe this bowl is attributed to New Jersey, but I do not know if the potter's business has been identified. However, this bowl is also earlier than the objects I just described, since an inscription connects it to production in Colonial America.

This is a fantastic piece of pottery, seeing that it has been prominently inscribed with what may be initials, "I F," and "1769," a year that places this piece within some of the most memorable moments in American history.

Colonial Red Earthenware Punch Bowl Inscribed "1769"

18th Century Red Earthenware Punch Bowl

Possibly Manufactured in New Jersey

Inscribed with the Year of Manufacture "1769"

Measures Approximately 15" in Diameter

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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

View of the Inscribed Year of Manufacture "1769"

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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

View of the Base

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Photo Courtesy: National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

Please Stay Tuned...Much More to Come...