Replica of the punchbowl featuring Sydney Cove
Date2014
Object number00056304
NamePunchbowl
MediumPorcelain
DimensionsOverall (Approx.): 170 × 450 × 450 mm
ClassificationsTableware and furnishings
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Alison Carr
DescriptionIn about 1818, a 'harlequin' pair of punchbowls were commissioned in China and painted with scenes of Sydney Harbour. The view from the east bowl is now in the State Library of NSW and the view from the west belongs to the museum. Together, they provide a rare painted view of the progress that had been made in the British settlement's first 30 years, and a reminder of the continuing presence of First Nations peoples. As the French explorer, Louis-Henri de Saulces de Freycinet wrote in 1819,returning after a 17-year absence: Sydney was ‘utterly different … I was able to gaze on the impressive sight of a European city flourishing in the heart of an almost primitive land’.
This replica was commissioned by Hordern House in the early 2000s and is one of 15 produced using similar techniques to those that would have been used almost 200 years earlier. Following considerable experimentation, the Chinese master craftsman (and founder of the Jingdezhen imperial kiln culture research institute) Master Huan Yun Peng was able to produce exact replicas of the original.
Now in the collection, the replica Sydney punchbowl enables the display of the two views together and provides today's viewer with an insight into early 19th century Sydney. The panorama shows many of the improvements made during Governor Macquarie's rule (1810-1821): the 1812 hexagonal stone cottage built for his oarsman, Jamaican-born convict Billy Blue, the expansion of Government House and the three wings of the new hospital. It is also a reminder of the tragedy inflicted upon First Nations peoples. Although present on the foreshore, and in the many bark canoes in the harbour, they had been devastated by European diseases, pollution of water supplies and alienation of lands.
SignificanceA replica of the State Library of NSW's 'Sydney Punchbowl', this is a harlequin pair with 'A view from the town of Sydney in NSW Punchbowl' produced about 1820 (00039838). Although the commissioning history of the pair is unknown, recent research by museum conservators has established that elements of the gilt monograms on each bowl are identical. The replicas were commissioned by Hordern House Rare Books and considerable efforts were made to ensure they were as true as possible to the original: the bowls were made in the same region of China as the originals, and the painting completed by Chinese artists using paints acquired from the same sources as in 1820. As a result, the replica enables the longterm display of both bowls and means that for the first time visitors will be able to compare and contrast the two different view of Sydney Cove in about 1818: from the west (museum's bowl) and the east (replica Sydney Punchbowl).
