Description:
Chinese export porcelain punch bowl decorated in blue with floral design that covers most of the exterior surface and a cross hatch band around the interior rim. The bowl belonged to Major-General John Ashley III (1736-1799) of Sheffield (Ashley Falls), Mass., who attended Yale College (graduated in 1758) and returned to Sheffield to pursue a law career. Ashley married twice: first to Louisa Ward (1739-1767) of New Marlborough, Massachusetts, in 1762, and then to Mary Ballantine (1744-1827), the daughter of the Reverend John and Mary Gay Ballantine of Westfield, Mass., in 1769. His father, Judge John Ashley (1709-1802) of Sheffield, built John a house a short distance south of his own, which still stands today on the west bank of the Housatonic River. Judge Ashley and the Reverend Jonathan Ashley (1712-1780) of Deerfield were second cousins. The Ashley's were part of the "Mansion People", an elite group of families who held most of the civic, military, and religious power in western Massachusetts. This punch bowl would have impressed visitors to his house from its place in a corner cupboard or set out on a table. Although Ashley's probate inventory does not include specific references to this bowl, it does list "1 Sett China $10," "12 China plates $4," and "5 Bowls $1.66." His father Col. John Ashley's probate inventory included a reference to "1 china bowl" valued at 75 cents. The base is inscribed in ink "71.75/Hist. North. #"; the bowl was formerly in the collection of Historic Northampton, Northampton, Mass.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+94.003 |
