Objects

Viewing Record 1 of 1

Switch Views: Lightbox | Image List | List

Master Mason Apron
1824-1830
Attributed to Lakeman & Hooper
USA: Massachusetts, Salem
Paint on silk, gilding, linen
body: 12-3/4"h x 14-1/2"w
Gift of Jon Gregory Adams Hill
2016.005.3

Master Mason apron. Rounded body and rounded flap. White silk with pleated light blue silk ribbon trim. Painted in gold and red on the flap is an all-seeing eye inside a sun or star. Painted on the body in gold and red is an arrangement of Masonic symbols. At center are three steps to a mosaic pavement. At each side is a column. In the center is an open book with "St. John" at the top of the pages. Above the book is a square and compasses with G in the middle. At top, between the columns, is a sun and a moon with seven stars. At the sides are an urn with incense, a beehive, an anchor and an ark. Bound along the top edge with blue silk ribbon. Light blue ribbon ties at top corners (but one side's tie is missing). Lined with off-white linen. At top center on the back is residue from a label.


This apron was passed down through several generations of the Hill family, all members of Liberty Lodge in Beverly, Massachusetts. While this particular apron does not have a label, it bears a strong resemblance to aprons produced by Nathan Lakeman (1804-1835) in Salem, Massachusetts. Nathan Lakeman advertised “Masonic aprons of the newest and most elegant patterns” through the 1820s. He joined Jordan Lodge in Danvers, Massachusetts, in 1827. Sadly, he died of consumption in 1835 when he was 31 years old. "Recent Acquisitions," June 2016 - July 2017



Related Media