Page 52 - Chinese Export Porcelain Art, MET MUSEUM 2003

Punch bowl, New York City view

Among the notable New Yorkers to acquire
large dinner services after 1784 was Mayor
(1811-15) DeWitt Clinton (fig. 52). Clinton
may also have played a role in securing the
enormous punch bowl presented to the city
of New York on July 4, 1812 (fig. 54). The
inscription on the bowl-well used, as
shown by the wear on the interior-reads:
"Drink deep. You will preserve the City and

encourage Canals." The last reference paid
tribute to Clinton's mission and most signif-
icant accomplishment, the construction of
the Erie Canal, which over a decade later
opened up New York to the West. On the
interior and exterior of the bowl are scenic Punch bowl, detail arms the city ofNew York
of
of
views of the state faithfully copied from
print sources, as were many landscape
designs on European porcelains of the early
nineteenth century.

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