Punch Bowl

Punch Bowl

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This extraordinary punchbowl features a remarkably faithful replica of the engraved certificate, dated December 1785, issued to Ebenezer Stevens (1751-1823) by the Society of the Cincinnati. Stevens was a major-general in command of the New York artillery and was vice president of the New York branch of the society. The decorative silver-gilt mount on the rim and around the foot were probably made during the early nineteenth century in response to an earlier crack—evidence of the extent to which the bowl was valued by its owner. A related bowl, a polychrome version, was made for Colonel Richard Varick (1753-1831). Varick was president of the New York branch of the society while Stevens was vice president. Although Varick's military career was tarnished by his association with Benedict Arnold, he later became Washington's confidential secretary and was mayor of New York from 1789 to 1801. It has descended in Stevens’ family. To the left of the inscription is Cincinnatus, with a giant eagle at his side, holding aloft a flag adorned with the American eagle. Lightning bolts repel the English lion and the figure of Britannia. To the right, against a harbor scene, the horn-blowing Angel of Fame displays the seal of the Society.


The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.