Two early 19th Century punchbowls are now on display for a limited time in the Sydney Harbour Gallery at the Australian National Maritime Museum, offering a glimpse into the first European settlement.
Made by unknown Chinese craftsmen, the hand-painted ‘Sydney punchbowls’ depict the scenes of the city dating from the Macquarie era (1810-1821). The bowls originated in Canton (now Guangzhou City in China) about three decades after the British settled at Sydney Cove in 1788.
They are the only two known examples of Chinese exporting porcelain. One bowl is in the State Library of New South Wales collection, while the other is part of the National Maritime Collection at the Maritime Museum. The two are similar but not exactly matching. Both have been donated to their collections–the library’s in 1926 and the museum’s in 2006….