Philadelphia suffered numerous outbreaks of diseases, such as yellow fever, during the 18th century, prompting the construction of a waterworks system late in the century that could provide a supply of clean, fresh water as a countermeasure to such illnesses. The so-called watering committee charged with this task hired English-born architect and engineer Benjamin Henry Latrobe to design the waterworks. Latrobe, considered the father of American architecture, was in Philadelphia working on the Bank of Pennsylvania, regarded as the first major example of the Greek revival style in the United States. The punch bowl features a view of the waterworks structure that Latrobe created for the prominent location in Philadelphia’s Center Square. The rectangular and cylindrical forms are rendered in a classical idiom and constructed of marble.

Alternating with the waterworks view, which is repeated on the front and rear of the bowl, are two views of United States naval victories over British ships from the War of 1812. One image is of the Wasp’s victory over the Frolic in 1812, the other the Peacock’s victory over L’Epervier in 1814. Both of the battle scenes were made from engravings after the work of Thomas Birch; all the images on the bowl, including that of the waterworks, were published in the Philadelphia periodical The Port Folio between 1812 and 1814, allowing the bowl to be dated with considerable certainty. Apart from the historical significance of the subjects, to have three different, distinctly American images on a piece of Chinese export porcelain makes this an object of the greatest rarity.