Liscum Bowl

The Liscum Bowl is a sterling silver punch bowl set made in 1902 from bullion rescued during the Boxer Rebellion by the U.S. Army. The silver was presented to the 9th Infantry Regiment by Chinese General Li Hung Chang in gratitude for the Americans' assistance to the Qing dynasty. The bowl was dedicated to Colonel Emerson H. Liscum, the regiment's commander killed at the Battle of Tientsin on 13 July 1900.

The punch bowl is one of the largest of its kind, and is described by the U.S. Army as "one of the foremost trophies of any American regiment." It is on display in the 2nd Infantry Division Museum in Korea, where it is the most valuable item in the collection, worth upwards of $2.5 million.

The silver set includes the bowl, the ladle, the tray and several dozen cups, and stylistically is of the late Meiji period. The set weighs 90 pounds (41 kg) and the bowl is 2'4" in diameter, 3'3" from handle to handle and is 1'9" in height. It has a capacity of approximately 14 gallons. The ladle is 2'1½" in length. The four handles consist of four Imperial dragons peering over the edge of the bowl, a design suggested by the regiment.

A report on the Liscum Bowl in a 1920 issue of The Jewelers' Circular journal described it as such: "The chasing and repoussé work in intertwined dragons, the same forming the four handles on the outside of the big bowl, on the immense heavy ladle, which holds nearly a pint, are said to be excellent examples of the best work of this kind in Japan."

The bowl is engraved with the name of Colonel Liscum and the date of his death, which established a tradition. The silver cups bear the engraved names of all officers who served with the Regiment in Asia between 1900 and the Korean War.

The United States was part of the Eight-Nation Alliance formed in response to the violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, and was known as the Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihequan Movement. The United States, Great Britain, France, Imperial Russia and Imperial Japan were among the nations that sent armies to China to protect their citizens and merchants from attacks by the "Boxers."

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