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Masonic Punch Bowl for Ephraim McFarland
1790-1820
Maker not marked
England
Lead-glazed earthernware with over-glaze enamel
overall: 5-1/2"h x 12-9/16"dia.
Museum Purchase
2015.029

Creamware Masonic punch bowl with footed round base and blue rim edge. Decorated with black transfer-printed motifs. Motif in bottom is also colored with red, yellow, blue and green. Motif in the bottom shows two classically-dressed figures (one in blue, one in yellow) in a landscape with a plumb and level. The figure in yellow rests one hand on the plumb. The figure in blue holds a straightedge (/). Behind and to the left is a series of five architectural columns showing the different capital styes. A series of arches rests on top of the columns. At top right is a delta with a sun surrounded by clouds and yellow glory rays, Resting on the ground at the bottom are charts and some Masonic tools. A verse in black below the scene reads "To heavens high Architect all praise / All gratitude be given / Who design'd the human soul to raise / By secrets sprung from heaven." Below the verse, in black, is "Ephraim McFarland." [The "Mc" is above "Ephraim" as if it may have been an afterthought or correction of a mistake.] Along the sides inside the bowl are six black transfer prints, each in an overall oval shape. One reads "Faith" at top and shows a figure representing faith. One reads "Hope" at top and shows a figure with an anchor. One reads "Charity" at top and shows a figure with two children. Two of the designs are identical, showing a man wearing a Masonic apron and sitting at a desk with a drawing of Euclid's 47th Problem. The floor is a mosaic pavement and all around him are Masonic symbols including an all-seeing eye, pair of globes on columns, sun, moon with seven stars, trowel, level, plumb and compasses. The remaining image shows a skull and crossbones on a shield at center. An angel head with wings is at top and bottom. Lettering around the shield reads "Pulsanti Apperiator / Sit Lux et Lux Fuit / Virtuti et Silentio / Amor Honor et Justitia." On the outside of the bowl are four black transfer printed decorations. One shows a farm with a man working his plow with a team of four oxen. One shows a farm with three men tilling the soil. One is a Masonic scene with a temple on a mosaic pavement with several Masonic tools. At left stand three male figures, all wearing aprons and jewels. The fourth decoration has an oval at center with a verse "As he tills the rich glebe the old peasant shall tell, / While his bosom with Liberty glows. / How your WARREN expir'd, how MONTGOMERY fell. / And how WASHINGTON humbled your foes." At bottom is a banner reading "Independence." At top are two flags and a Liberty cap (marked "Liberty') with a wreath.


This punch bowl is marked with the name of its original owner, Ephraim McFarland. McFarland was likely a ship captain who sailed between Maine and Boston and belonged to St. Andrew’s Lodge in Boston. McFarland’s bowl bears his name along with a number Masonic and patriotic images, letting anyone who viewed it know of McFarland’s support of the new United States and his identification as a Freemason. For more information, see blog post, August 11, 2015. http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2015/08/new-to-the-collection-a-masonic-punch-bowl.html



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