These consist of six Chinese porcelain armorial punchbowls showing the arms of the Company and the arms of John Ward, Master in 1797. It is not clear how they originally came into the Company’s possession or whether we ever owned all six. There is a record of three of the bowls in our possession in 1901. Stylistically they are of slightly earlier date than 1795 and were thought, in the late nineteenth century, to have been made at Lowestoft factory in England. However, careful examination shows them to be true Chinese hard paste porcelain. All the bowls were lost during the Second World War. Five of them were rediscovered in 1992 in the Museum of London. The sixth is known to be in America having been sold in 1953 for £10,000. Four of the bowls have been returned to the Company, one bowl will remain on display in the Museum of London.
A modern Chinese punchbowl was presented to the company by the Keeper of the Collection, Past Master Sir George White Bt. to commemorate his year as Master, 2001.
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