A MASSIVE WILLIAM AND MARY LIGNUM VITAE WASSAIL BOWL

Date	1694
Period	1600-1750, 17th century
Origin	England
Dimensions	39.5 x 35.5 cm (15¹/₂ x 14 inches)
Gallery	Ronald Phillips Ltd

Description
Technical

The bowl is applied with a brass plaque engraved with the family crest of the White family of Weymouth, dated 1694, and the Latin motto ‘Bibi Potum et non Defundo’ which translates as ‘I drank a drink and will not spill’.
Wassail bowls of this size are extremely rare, and it is to date the largest known bowl in existence. The fact that is dated and provenanced adds to its rarity.

Volume: 5 imperial gallons; 24 litres

Date: 1694
Period: 1600-1750, 17th century
Origin: England
Dimensions: 39.5 x 35.5 cm (15¹/₂ x 14 inches)
Provenance: Thomas White, Weymouth, England.
Private collection, England.
Literature: Charles R. Beard, ‘A Royal Wassail-Bowl’, Connoisseur, vol. 100, 1937, pp. 316-17.
Categories: Works of Art