A rare Ewenny wassail bowl and cover, dated 1832-33


Glazed in yellow over a white slip and with sgraffito decoration, the eighteen plain strap handles with zig-zags and circles, a border of interlocking circles below the rim, a leafy stem and the inscription 'WIM Clay pits/ 1833' below the handles, the high domed cover with a figure of a man kneeling before a round table surrounded by birds and two foxes, one with a mouse in its mouth, inscribed 'William/ James/ Tonyrevil/ Jany 12th/ 1832', 39cm high (2)
|Provenance:Bonhams sale 9 October 2010, lot 76Literature:Illustrated by J M Lewis, The Ewenny Potteries (1982), p 77.Wassail bowls were used in 19th century Wales at New Year when groups of revellers would progress from house to house spreading good cheer. The bowls were filled with spiced ale. The communal nature of the custom is emphasised by the multiple handles which may have been entwined with decorative ribbons. Extant examples bear dates in the range 1825-41. They may have been made for parish use so that the inscription refers to the donor of the bowl rather than the owner. A report in the South Wales News of 30 April 1892 is reproduced by Lewis, op cit, p.73 and refers to William Williams, a potter at Claypits who made wassail bowls in the 1820s for other parishes at a cost of one guinea each. A closely related example inscribed 'THOMAS ARTHUR maker Ewenny Glamorganshire South Wales November 26 1823' is illustrated by Gwyneth and Ieuan R Evans, Ewenny Potteries, Potters and Pots (2001), p.111, fig.154.