Style Other / Ref.15236

Crystal and solid silver punch bowl

This crystal punch bowl with a solid silver mount was made in the late 19^th century, after 1888.

The origin of punch dates back to the 17^th century. Letters found in the archives of the British East India Company recounts its invention. Two of its employees stationed in the Bay of Bengal, seeking to cure their homesickness, invented a mixture using five ingredients: arrack (palm, coconut, or rice alcohol), lemon, tea, sugar, and spices (nutmeg and cinnamon). Punch quickly became the drink of the high society. Thus, by the 18^th century, the delicately adorned silver punch bowl had become a staple in any prominent household.

By the late 19^th century, the punch bowl remained an extremely luxurious object, as evidenced by this crystal bowl with a solid silver mount. The lower part rests on four ornate feet and features two elegant handles. The crystal forming the body of the bowl is wheel-engraved with arabesques populated with swans. In the center of the bowl, two circular cartouches surrounded by two cherubs holding a fruit basket showcase the quality of the silver work. The lid, entirely made of solid silver, has an opening at the base, designed to hold a ladle without the alcohol evaporating. It is decorated with a series of friezes, culminating in a small promontory hosting a cherub embodying Dionysus or Bacchus. The child is indeed crowned with vine leaves, depicted riding a panther (one of the god’s attributes), and holding a thyrsus. This iconography decoratively references the object's function, as punch brings intoxication.

The hallmark was applied in accordance with the federal law of July 16, 1884, which came into force on January 1, 1888, requiring all silver works to bear the master's mark (here, an eagle), the fineness number (this is 800 silver), and the German hallmark, namely the crescent moon and crown, for all the most precious pieces.

This punch bowl embodies the elegance and richness still associated with the consumption of punch in the refined circles of affluent society at the very end of the 19^th century, while soberly evoking the Dionysian universe linked to the intoxication that this drink brings.