Bowl

Item Number: J167
Shape Type:  Bowl with pedestal
Pattern Name: River Fishing
Date: c. 1810-1820
Dimensions: D 6″
Maker:  Unknown
Maker’s Mark: Unmarked
Description:
An earthenware bowl with pedestal printed underglaze in blue with the River Fishing pattern. The central pattern consists of a small cameo view of two fishermen alongside a river. The fishermen are seated on the riverbank under a large palm-like tree. A rural landscape consisting of fruit trees, a palm tree and oriental buildings is seen on the opposite side of the river. This small scene is surrounded with large and varied flowers. The inner border design contains scrolls and a modified diaper pattern. Painted in the interior of the bowl are the words “Rum & Water”. Rum and water were the basic ingredients of an alcoholic drink known as Grog. British Vice Admiral Vernon introduced this rum and water drink to the naval squadron he commanded in the West Indies on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or Old Grog. The Merriam–Webster Collegiate Dictionary, which agrees with this story of the word’s origin, states that the word grog was first used in this sense in 1770, though other sources cite 1749. This bowl would have been made much later,  sometime in the first quarter of the 19th century.
Condition: Professionally restored. There was a chip on the white of the foot, some small nicks around the rim and a crack that ran from the rim diagonally across the bowl. This went through the ‘M and U’ in the word “Rum”.  A 2020 professional restoration.