# Punch Bowl

- By: Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (Designed by Alexander Kips (born Prussia \[now Germany\], 1858–1910); Modeled by Ernst Wägner (born Austria-Hungary,…)
- Date: Designed 1891, made 1892
- Medium: Hard-paste porcelain
- Classification: Ceramics
- Dimensions: 87.7 × 78.8 × 80 cm (34 1/2 × 31 × 31 1/2 in.)
- Culture: Berlin
- Credit line: Gift of Jack Shear
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/263124)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/a7b13aaf-8c68-9f40-23cd-15070595a727/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The monumental size and dynamic modeling of this punch bowl showcase the sculptural capabilities of porcelain. Three figures in classical draperies encircle the bowl; they reach toward one another bearing roses and grapevines while three putti gather around a pineapple knop on the lid. Created by the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the bowl’s symbols of hospitality and celebration also reflect ideas of German national identity that emerged after the country’s unification in 1871. The masses of grapevines and leaves allude to the Rhineland, the center of German wine production.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0