A FAMILLE ROSE 'WILKES AND LIBERTY' PUNCH BOWL Qianlong, circa 1769-1775 Thinly potted with deep rounded sides rising from a short foot, enamelled around the exterior on either side, beneath the legend Wilkes & Liberty, two framed portraits flanked by advocates, that of Wilkes on the left with the motto 'Always ready in a good cause' and that of Lord Mansfield on the right with 'Justice sans pitie' and a devil, floral sprays in between, the interior with a further floral spray in the centre of the well, encircled by a patterned border beneath the mouth rim. 26cm (10 1/4in) diam. Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 約1769-1775年 粉彩威爾克斯與自由潘趣碗 Provenance: Robin Simpson (1940-2020), London Acquired on 8 September 2021 來源：Robin Simpson (1940-2020)，倫敦 獲得于2021年9月8日 Large export porcelain punch bowls decorated with Western political imagery constitute a rare and important category within 18th century Chinese export ware. The present example belongs to this exceptional group and is decorated with the so called 'Arms of Liberty', a composite emblem incorporating British constitutional symbols associated with liberty, civic rights, and resistance to tyranny. Such imagery was current in mid 18th century Britain and closely aligned with Whig political thought, later acquiring heightened resonance in the context of colonial unrest and the American Revolution. The bowl was produced in Jingdezhen in response to a specific Western commission. Its decoration demonstrates the remarkable responsiveness of Chinese workshops to European political demands, translating complex British historical and ideological material into porcelain with notable accuracy, despite the geographical and cultural distance involved. Far from being purely decorative, such punch bowls functioned as convivial centrepieces within elite social settings, where punch drinking was closely associated with political debate, expressions of shared allegiance, and the performance of oppositional identity. The present bowl is decorated with two elaborate pseudo-armorial shields enclosing satirical portraits of prominent figures associated with the Wilkesite movement in Georgian Britain. One shield bears a portrait of John Wilkes (1727-1797), the radical politician and outspoken advocate of parliamentary liberty, accompanied by the motto 'Always ready in a good cause'. Acting as heraldic 'supporters' are Serjeant John Glynn, his legal adviser, and Lord Temple, his close ally and political patron. Opposite, the second shield contains a portrait of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793), Lord Chief Justice of England. His crest depicts a serpent rising from thistles; an allusion to his Scottish origins, together with the motto 'Justice sans pitie' ('Justice without mercy'). His supporters are shown as Lord Bute, Prime Minister in 1762-1763 and a frequent target of Wilkes's attacks, and the devil, underscoring the satirical and adversarial nature of the imagery. Above the two shields appears the slogan 'Wilkes & Liberty', a rallying cry of the movement and a widely recognised emblem of opposition politics. The imagery derives directly from contemporary political portraiture and print culture. Wilkes's likeness is based on a painting by Robert Edge Pine, disseminated through a mezzotint by William Dickenson, while Mansfield's portrait follows a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, reproduced in print by Henry Hoppner. The bowl was commissioned in response to Wilkes's arrest in 1763 for publishing a scathing critique of the policies of King George III and Lord Bute. Although Wilkes initially fled abroad, his imprisonment following his return to England in 1768 transformed him into a potent symbol of resistance to governmental overreach. The present bowl reflects the extraordinary speed with which contemporary political imagery circulated internationally and was transmitted to China for reproduction in porcelain. It stands as a rare and vivid example of Chinese export ware engaged directly with the ideological struggles of Georgian Britain, and more broadly illustrates the extent to which Jingdezhen was integrated into global networks of exchange, capable of responding not only to Western taste but to contemporary history and political ideology at a moment of profound transatlantic change. See a similar famille rose 'Arms of Liberty' punch bowl, 1765-1775, in the Museum of the American Revolution (ac.no.2012.00.0001). Another very similar punch bowl, 1770-1775, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (acc.no.C.20-1951). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing