Many seventeenth-century English ceramics are decorated with pomegranates, like this distinctively shaped ‘clapmash’ bowl, whose name derives from the Dutch 2019-12-04- ‘Klapmuts’, a sailor’s hat with a rounded crown and a broad flat brim. Its underside is dated ‘1639’ and has the initial letter ‘I’ combined with ‘B’ followed by ‘M’. The combination of ripe pomegranates with grapes (both symbols of fertility), and the precise form of the conjoined initials, make it likely that this dish was made to commemorate a marriage.

Probably London (Southwark), England, or possibly Netherlands, 1639

Tin-glazed earthenware (Delftware)

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.1400-1928)