This 17th century English silver-mounted, lignum vitae wassail bowl carries the coat-of-arms for the Grocer's Company and the inscription,'Ye gifte of Richard Rogers to hys olde friends who meet in the Toy room'.The Toye was an inn, built in 16th or early 17th century, which stood outside the gates of Hampton Court, in London. There were several Liverymen in the Grocer's Company in the 17th century called Richard Rogers, and it has not been possible to establish exactly which individual was the owner of this handsome wassail bowl. The inn was demolished in 1857.Wassailing ceremonies took place at a number of different times throughout the year including Christmas, Shrove Tuesday and January 6th (Twelfth Night). The wassail bowl was filled with a mixture of ingredients including ale, sugar, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.