Presentation Ship Bowl

This line drawing is all that remains of this presentation bowl given to the captain of a ship called The Golden Lion. The Golden Lion was originally a French Sloop of War (Le Lion D’Or) which was captured by a Liverpool Privateer around 1749. The ship was converted into a whaling vessel and in 1750 it sailed from Liverpool to Greenland. The Golden Lion was the first vessel to sail from Liverpool to take part in the whaling trade. In 1753, Captain Metcalf was presented with this punch bowl by his employers to commemorate the completion of the ship’s second successful voyage. The bowl was presented to Liverpool (now World) Museum by Joseph Mayer in 1867 and was it recorded that the bowl was in blue with ships in full sail and flowers displayed in orange and red. It went on display ( see image in Survivors, Presentation bowl) with other important ceramics in galleries that formed the original part of the museum. In May 1941 these galleries were the most badly damaged by the fire and it is believed that the bowl was destroyed.