Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

A large Charles II lignum vitae dated wassail bowl, the turned bulbous body on a moulded domed foot, engraved with an inscription in Latin 'Implentur veteris bachi pinginsg Ferince=Tendinus in Latinum Anno domini 1681 Ex dono Jacobi Smith Exons', which translates as 'Fill up with old wine that is really juicy. Tried in Latin in the year 1681. The gift of Jacob Smith Esq.', above a coat of arms to either side, one with three roses between 'fess dancetty' for the Smith family and the other shield with a leopard's face on a canton for the Isaac family, 31.8cm high, 29.5cm diameter.

The word Wassail means 'Good health' and is an expression of well wishing equivalent to the word 'cheers', offered in the context of convivial drinking. This is very apt in the context of the present lot which was probably presented as a gift and used at a wedding between the Isaac and Smith families in 1681. It is fairly rare to find a wassail bowl with a date and an inscription, for another example see Woolley & Wallis, Furniture & Works of Art, 4th October 2017, lot 14 for a larger wassail bowl with an applied plaque and the date '1694'.