A CHINESE EXPORT MONOGRAMMED HUNTING PUNCH BOWL circa 1785

painted on the front with a fox crouching in the bushes near a dismounted huntsman and his hounds while other huntsmen and hounds pursue another fox beyond, and the reverse with three mounted huntsmen and their pack in pursuit of a running fox near tower buildings, each within a green fret-edged panel reserved on a gilt trellis diaper ground further reserved on the sides with similarly bordered panels painted in iron-red monochrome with Italianate buildings beneath a colorfully garlanded shield initialed in gilding DW, the interior with a central iron-red landscape roundel below three purple and gilt wavy lines and a band of chartreuse beadwork edging the salmon and gilt trelliswork border around the rim repeated on the exterior rim.  Hair crack on the rim.

Sold, Sotheby's, Monte Carlo, February 9, 1981, lot 964

François and Nicole Hervouët and Yves Bruneau, La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a Décor Occidental, p. 76, no. 3.30

4 inch haircrack on the rim (at 10:30), minor wear to the gilding in the trellis ground and gilt initials, wear to the gilding on the rim edge; Sotheby's Monaco sticker.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Sporting activities, such as fox hunting and racing, were popular events enjoyed by the upper classes in England and America during the second half of the eighteenth century, and the survival of hunting punch bowls made for both markets is a reflection of this enthusiasm and the celebrations these sports engendered.  Many such bowls, decorated with either continuous scenes or scenes in panels, probably were ordered by the British Honourable East India Company on speculation, but the most intriguing are those ordered specially and personalized with inscriptions or initials, as is the case with this example.

An identically decorated bowl, also initialed DW, but of slightly smaller size (14 1/8 inches in diameter) was sold at Sotheby's in London on June 23, 2981, lot 58, and it would be interesting to know if the bowls were commissioned as a pair, but shrank to different sizes during the cooling process after their firing.