Chinese Export Masonic Punch Bowl
Unknown Chinese, Chinese
late 18th-early 19th century
Porcelain with glazing
Overall: 4 3/4 in. (12 cm)
Base: 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
Rim: 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Frank P. Stetz in memory of David Stewart Hull, Class of 1960
C.2004.83.2
Geography
Place Made: China, East Asia, Asia
Period
19th century
Object Name
Tools and Equipment: Food Service
Research Area
Decorative Arts
Not on view
Label
Porcelain was a luxury export product of advanced Chinese chemistry and ceramics. Collected by high-status Europeans as a symbol of sophistication, rarity, and exclusivity, porcelain increased economic ties and cultural exchange between China and Europe. This bowl was made for punch, which comes from the Hindi word for the number five (पाँच). Five is the number of ingredients used in the drink: alcohol, sugar, citrus, spices, and water. Despite the term’s Hindi origin, drinking punch was a European custom enjoyed by all, from the lower class to aristocrats. The unique Masonic designs on the exterior of the punch bowl help identify that the commissioners were Freemasons, members of an exclusive Christian secret society that valued fellowship and moral discipline.
Written by Josephine Boutte ’26
From the 2023 exhibition Faith and Empire: The Legacy of Conversion and Commerce in the Early Modern World, curated by students of ARTH 20.04, "Faith and Empire: Art in the Early Modern World" taught by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming
Course History
Art History 38.03, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 70.02, East Meets West, Sunglim Kim, Spring 2024
Exhibition History
Faith and Empire: The Legacy of Conversion and Commerce in the Early Modern World, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 12-December 23, 2023.
Provenance
Frank Stetz, New York, NY; given to present collection, 2004.
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