{{Short description|Large bowl used for punch}} {{other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} [[File:Meissenpunchbowl.jpg|thumb|right|Punch bowl with lid and stand, made at the [[Meissen porcelain]] factory, Germany, 1770, V&A Museum no. C.37&A-1960<ref>{{cite web |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O277543/punch-bowl-and-meissen-porcelain-factory |publisher= [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |title= Punch bowl and Cover |work=Metalwork }}</ref>]]
A '''punch bowl''' or '''punchbowl''' is a bowl, often large and wide, for serving mixed drinks such as [[hippocras]], [[punch (drink)|punch]] or [[mulled wine]], with a [[Ladle (spoon)|ladle]].<ref name=Edwards>''The Language of Drink'' Graham and Sue Edwards 1988, Alan Sutton Publishing</ref> A '''monteith''' (''seau crennelé'' in French) is a similar bowl, usually of silver or [[pottery]], scalloped around the edge. It was mainly a wine cooler, designed for cooling glasses in icy water, the feet of the glasses held in the notches, but could be used as a punchbowl.<ref>Truman, Charles, ed., ''Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Silver'', p. 198, 1996, Conran Octopus, ISBN 1850297592</ref> Monteiths appear in Britain around 1680, and were popular until the 1720s or so.<ref>*[[Timothy Schroder|Schroder, Timothy]], ''The National Trust Book of English Domestic Silver, 1500-1900'', 324, 1988, Penguin/Viking, {{ISBN|0670802379}}</ref>
Very large examples, like the [[Jerningham wine cooler]], are usually called a '''wine cistern'''. These were more often used as [[Wine_accessory#Coolers|wine coolers]], for cooling wine bottles with icy water, but for a large party might be used as punchbowls.<ref>Schroder, 4</ref> [[Tureen]]s normally used for soup or other food might also be used.
==History== [[File:Monteith, John Leach, London, 1704-1705, silver - Cincinnati Art Museum - DSC04588.JPG|thumb|Silver monteith by John Leach, London, 1704-1705]] [[Hippocras]], wine with herbs and spices, and [[mulled wine]], similar but more likely to be served hot, go back to the Middle Ages, indeed ancient times. In [[Ancient Greek pottery]], the [[krater]] is a large (sometimes extremely large, as in the [[Vix Krater]]) mixing-bowl for wine, of similar rounded shape, but with two horizontal handles.
The word ''punch'' is a [[loanword]] from [[Hindi]]. The original drink was named ''paantsch'', which is Hindi for "five", and the drink was made from five different ingredients: [[distilled beverage|spirit]], sugar, lemon, water or tea and spices. The drink was brought back from India to England by the [[sailor]]s and employees of the [[British East India Company]] in the early seventeenth century, and from there it was introduced into other European countries.<ref name=Edwards/>[[File:Ponchera real española (M.A.N. 58673) 01.jpg|thumb|180px|right|Spanish royal punch bowl made by [[Baccarat (company)|Baccarat manufactory]] ([[France]]) towards 1830]]
Punch quickly became a popular drink. It was served in punch bowls, usually ceramic or silver, which were often elaborately decorated. Punch bowls sometimes had lids or were supported on a stand; other accessories such as a serving ladle and cups in which to serve the drink sometimes accompanied the punch bowl. Punch bowls were often painted with inscriptions or were used for testimonial purposes: the first successful whaling voyage from [[Liverpool]] was commemorated by a punch bowl presented by the owners of the ship to its captain.<ref name="BoD">{{cite book |title=Punch and Punch-bowls in ''The Book of Days''|last=Chambers|first=Robert|year=1832|publisher=W. & R. Chambers Ltd.|location=London, UK|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_K0UJAAAAIAAJ/page/n492 496]–9|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_K0UJAAAAIAAJ|quote=punch bowl.|access-date=2008-10-29}}</ref>
The ubiquity of the punch bowl as a household item is illustrated in this 1832 quote:
<blockquote>The punch-bowl was an indispensable vessel in every house above the humblest class. And there were many kindly recollections connected with it, it being very frequently given as a present. No young married couple ever thought of buying a punch-bowl; it was always presented to them by a near-relative.<ref name="BoD"/></blockquote>
[[File:Southern Bourbon Punch.jpg|thumb|left|A glass punch bowl with serving ladle.]]
Occasionally, less likely vessels were used as punch bowls, such as a marble fountain to serve 6,000:
<blockquote>On the 15th October 1694 [[Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford|Admiral Edward Russell]], then commanding the Mediterranean fleet, gave a grand entertainment at [[Alicant]]e. The tables were laid under the shade of orange-trees, in four garden-walks meeting in a common centre, at a marble fountain, which last, for the occasion, was converted into a Titanic punch-bowl. Four [[Hogshead|hogsheads]] of brandy, one pipe of [[Malaga (wine)|Malaga wine]], twenty gallons of lime-juice, twenty-five hundred lemons, thirteen hundredweight of fine white sugar, five pounds' weight of grated nutmegs, three hundred toasted biscuits, and eight hogsheads of water, formed the ingredients of this monster-brewage. An elegant canopy placed over the potent liquor, prevented waste by evaporation, or dilution by rain; while, in a boat, built expressly for the purpose, a ship-boy rowed round the fountain, to assist in filling cups for the six thousand persons who partook of it.<ref name="BoD"/></blockquote>
==Particular punch bowls== [[File:Liscum Bowl, 2nd Infantry Division Museum.jpg|thumb|The [[Liscum Bowl]] set on display, 2nd Infantry Division Museum, Korea]] *[[Jesus College, Oxford]] owns a large [[silver]]-[[Gilding|gilt]] punch bowl, presented by [[Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet|Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn]] in 1732.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Glanville|first=Philippa|author-link=Philippa Glanville|title=A Treasured Inheritance|journal=[[Oxford Today]]|volume=16|issue=3|publisher=[[Oxford University]] Public Affairs Directorate|year=2004|url=http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2003-04/v16n3/07.shtml|access-date=2007-03-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226202914/http://www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2003-04/v16n3/07.shtml|archive-date=26 December 2005|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The bowl, which weighs more than {{convert|200|oz|kg}} and holds {{convert|10|impgal|L}}, was used at a dinner held in the [[Radcliffe Camera]] in 1814, to celebrate what was supposed to be the final defeat of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]. Those present at the dinner included the [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar of Russia]], the [[Frederick William III of Prussia|King of Prussia]], [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]], [[Klemens Wenzel von Metternich|Metternich]], the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince Regent]], the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]] and the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordinscriptions.com/war_and_peace.htm|title=War and Peace|access-date=2007-03-15|last=Popkin|first=Michael|date=November 2001|work=Oxford Inscriptions: Inscribed Stones and Plaques in Oxford|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315004641/http://www.oxfordinscriptions.com/war_and_peace.htm|archive-date=15 March 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> There is a college tradition that the bowl will be presented to anyone who can meet two challenges. The first is to put arms around the bowl at its widest point; the second is to drain the bowl of strong punch. The bowl measures {{convert|5|ft|2|in|m}} at its widest point, and so the first challenge has only been accomplished rarely; the second challenge has not been met.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas|first=Llewellyn|author-link=Thomas Llewellyn Thomas|editor=Clark, Andrew |title=The colleges of Oxford: their history and traditions|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/collegesofoxford00clarrich|access-date=2008-08-19|year=1891|publisher=Methuen & Co|location=London|page=387|chapter=Jesus College}}</ref> *The [[Stanley Cup]] is frequently described as a punch bowl. *The [[Sydney punchbowls]] are made of Chinese porcelain and depict rare scenes of early [[Sydney]]. * The [[Liscum Bowl]] set is made from {{convert|90|lbs}} of sterling silver gifted to the United States Army from China during the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in 1900. It is the most prized possession of the [[9th Infantry Regiment (United States)|9th Infantry Regiment]] and worth upwards of $2.5 million.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Robson|first1=Seth|title=2nd ID museum director keeps history alive|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/2nd-id-museum-director-keeps-history-alive-1.14892|access-date=25 November 2016|work=Stars and Stripes|date=28 December 2003}}</ref>
==Other uses== At times, punch bowls were used as [[baptismal font]]s in [[dissenter|dissenting]] families.<ref name="BoD"/>
The American poet [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] wrote the poem ''On Lending a Punch-bowl'' about an old silver punch bowl.<ref name="OWH">{{cite book|title=The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes|last=Holmes|first=Oliver Wendell|year=1852|publisher=G. Routledge & Co.|location= London, UK|isbn=9781421916804|pages=[https://archive.org/details/poeticalworks00holmgoog/page/n297 267]–71|url= https://archive.org/details/poeticalworks00holmgoog|quote=punch bowl oliver.}}</ref>
In English usage, large, bowl-shaped landscape features (often the head of [[wikt:coombe|combes]] or valleys) were occasionally given the name ''punch bowl'', such as the [[Devil's Punch Bowl]] in [[Surrey]] or [[Punchbowl Crater]] ("The Punchbowl") on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ewpor/ho_1984.449.htm Chinese hard paste punch bowl (1786–90) made for the export market]
[[Category:Drinkware]]