"bowl in which the ingredients of a punch are mixed and from which it is served by means of a ladle," 1690s, from punch (n.2) + bowl (n.1).
Entries linking to punch-bowl
punch n.2
type of mixed drink, 1630s; since 17c. traditionally said to derive from Hindi panch "five," in reference to the number of original ingredients (spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar, spice), from Sanskrit panchan-s, from pancha "five" (from PIE root *penkwe- "five"). But there are difficulties (see OED), and connection to puncheon (n.1) is not impossible. Dutch punch, German Punch, French punch, etc. are said to be from English.
The Hind. panch does not seem to occur alone in the sense of 'punch,' but it is much used in composition to denote various mixtures of five things, as, panchamrit, a mixture of milk, curds, sugar, glue, and honey, panch-bhadra, a sauce of five ingredients, panch-pallar, a medical preparation from the sprouts of five trees, etc. [Century Dictionary]
bowl n.1
"round, low vessel to hold liquids or liquid food," Old English bolla "pot, cup, bowl," from Proto-Germanic *bul- "a round vessel" (source also of Old Norse bolle, Old High German bolla), from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell." Formerly also "a large drinking cup," hence figurative use as an emblem of festivity or drunkenness. In reference to a football-stadium 1913, originally one that is bowl-shaped.