Punch Bowl Box
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth
(American, 1743 - 1804)
Furniture MakerMade by
Samuel Kneeland
(American, 1755 - 1828)
Date1786-1792
MediumCherry, various light wood inlays, brass hardware
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 9 1/8 x 18 15/16 x 18 1/2in. (23.2 x 48.1 x 47cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Frances E. Brinley
Object number1955.14.1.2
DescriptionRectangular, cherry punch bowl box in the Federal, or early neoclassical, style. The top has applied molding at the front and side edges consisting of ovolo, or thumbnail, molding over cove molding. The top of the box has an inlaid fan, or patera, of light and dark wood in the center. This is surrounded by a thin, light wood inlaid border around the edge of the top. The front and each side are also outlined by a thin, light wood inlaid border. The front and each side of the box have base molding, consisting of a cove over a tall fillet, or vertical section of molding. The box sits on four ogee bracket feet that project slightly behond the sides of the box and base molding. Hardware consists of a brass lock escutcheon (replaced) at the top center front of the box, a brass bail-and-pull on each side, and a pair of brass hinges (replaced) joining the top to the back of the box.
Interior. Each interior side of the box has a cylindrical, leather pad stuffed with grass; these are joined to the side with a brass nail at each end. The center interior bottom of the box has a turquoise velvet-lined ring surrounding a velvet-lined pad (later addition); these are tacked to the bottom.
Condition: The top of the box has split, to the right of the oval inlay. Portions of the oval inlay have been repaired. The molding around the top is replaced. The underside of the box has split, near the front edge; this has been repaired with glue and a strip of artificial leather nailed to the underside of the box over the split. The feet are re-glued. A square sheet of colorless plastic is screwed into the underside of the lid, over the label. The hinges and lock escutcheon are replaced. The box is refinished.
Design and Construction Details: The top is constructed of a board with an extra strip of wood at the back; the molding is nailed to the front and sides of the board. Each side is constructed of a single board; these are joined at the corners of the box with mitered dovetails. Each corner has a varying number of dovetails, from 7 to 10. The bottom is constructed of a single board that is nailed to the underside of the front, back and each side of the box. The base molding is nailed to the box, covering the lower front and sides of the box and edge of the bottom. The ogee bracket feet are constructed of thick molded ogee facing that is nailed to the underside of the base molding and joined at the corner with a miter joint. Each front foot has a small square corner block.
NotesProvenance Note: According to a letter written by the donor about 1955, the punch bowl and its box belonged to Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth (1743-1804) of Hartford, Connecticut. Judith E. Johnson, CHS Library Genealogist, determined that Francis E. Brinley (1877-1967) is the great great grandaughter of Jeremiah Wadsworth. A likely line of descent through the family could be: Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth (1793-1804) who married Mehitable Russell (1735-1811). Their daughter, Catherine Wadsworth (1774-1881), married Nathaniel Terry (1768-1842). Their daughter, Frances Ellen Terry (1816-1876), married George Brinley Jr. (1817-1875). George and Frances's son, George Brinley III (1842-1892), married Mary E. Carter (1842-1935). Their unmarried daughter, Frances E. Brinley (1877-1967), gave the punchbowl and its box to the Connecticut Historical Society Museum in 1955. (Johnson and Hunt 1/26/2005)Interior. Each interior side of the box has a cylindrical, leather pad stuffed with grass; these are joined to the side with a brass nail at each end. The center interior bottom of the box has a turquoise velvet-lined ring surrounding a velvet-lined pad (later addition); these are tacked to the bottom.
Condition: The top of the box has split, to the right of the oval inlay. Portions of the oval inlay have been repaired. The molding around the top is replaced. The underside of the box has split, near the front edge; this has been repaired with glue and a strip of artificial leather nailed to the underside of the box over the split. The feet are re-glued. A square sheet of colorless plastic is screwed into the underside of the lid, over the label. The hinges and lock escutcheon are replaced. The box is refinished.
Design and Construction Details: The top is constructed of a board with an extra strip of wood at the back; the molding is nailed to the front and sides of the board. Each side is constructed of a single board; these are joined at the corners of the box with mitered dovetails. Each corner has a varying number of dovetails, from 7 to 10. The bottom is constructed of a single board that is nailed to the underside of the front, back and each side of the box. The base molding is nailed to the box, covering the lower front and sides of the box and edge of the bottom. The ogee bracket feet are constructed of thick molded ogee facing that is nailed to the underside of the base molding and joined at the corner with a miter joint. Each front foot has a small square corner block.
The donor's note (from about 1955) also states "family tradition is that, when Gen. George Washington was on his way to Boston he stayed with Jeremiah Wadsworth and drank punch from this bowl." Unfortunately, no eighteenth-century document has confirmed this family history. Instead, it is assumed that he drank from this punch bowl, along with other well-known Revolutionary War era individuals, while visiting Jeremiah Wadsworth, because the Wadsworth family would have used their most expensive and impressive household objects when serving prominent visitors. (Hunt 1/13/2005)
Status
Not on view
Object/Object
