A very Rare Circa 1700 English Glazed Earthenware Barber’s Bowl Bleeding Bowl with Center Portrait Old Repair

Circa 1700 English Glazed Earthenware Barber’s Bowl Bleeding Bowl with Center Portrait

An exquisite example of late 17th/early 18th C. Barber’s Bowl 

The Barber Bowl, used for shaving and minor blood letting. Most of the bowls were made for a person of notoriety and someone with money. The center of the bowl has a portrait, most likely from the owner of the bowl. The estate that had this bowl are the original owners, the items and house have been in one family since the 1700’s. 

The round bowl with deep center well, a small soap well on the edge and semicircle area to fit tightly to the neck. “The semicircular notch on the rim may also have been used for resting the patient's arm during the process of bloodletting, which was performed by barber-surgeons of the time. The small circular depression on the side of the rim may have held a small ball of soap while the barber lathered and shaved his customer's face. Another possibility is that the barber placed his thumb in the cavity to get a good grip while holding the bowl.”

The two small holes on the bottom edge of the bowl, “…barber’s bowl served another function as well. The two small holes on the top of the rim were used to string a cord from which the bowl was hung on the wall when not in use. The fact that it was hung on the wall shows that this bowl was also valued for its decorativeness. Although barber's bowls were most often made of tin-glazed earthenware..”

The beautiful blue images of the comb, the two razors, the small image of soap and the image left of the figure could very well be a leech, the bottom image appears to be water or possibly hair. 

Size: 10 1/2” diam.
Condition: like most of these, the edge has a repair, the brown mark is a very early repair of the bowl, the image of the razor is “touched up”. Very minor and very light edge marks from age. The center of the bowl has small crazing to the glaze and a small surface crack at the top of the figure’s head. 

Note:
This require additional postage due to the size and the nature of the item. I will double box the item and add as much bubble and packing peanuts to help prevent damage in shipping. 
Over seas buyers please contact me before purchase with postal code to get a shipping quote. Shipping cost posted is for Domestic shipping only.