
Helena Gumley
Head of Sale Carpets and Tapestries
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Sold for £2,816 inc. premium
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Head of Sale Carpets and Tapestries

Sale Coordinator for Furniture, Sculpture, Rugs & Tapestries
Wassail bowls were typically used to contain hot liquid -the wood therefore needed to be densely grained and durable. The word 'Wassail' comes from the old English 'Waeshael' meaning 'be well' or 'be whole'. The wood used for these vessels came from the West Indian - Guaiacum tree -renowned for its medicinal properties -hence the use of 'lignum vitae' meaning tree of life. For similar examples see O. Evan-Thomas, Domestic Utensils of Wood 1973, EP Publishing, Plates 9 and 10, p24-25.
A similar example sold Sotheby's 30th November to 1st December 1983The W.J Shepherd Collection of Treen Lot 566.