Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Master Mason Apron
ca. 1826
Maker not marked
USA: Rhode Island (probably)
Ink and paint on silk
overall: 16-3/4"h x 15-1/4"w
Gift of the Supreme Council, 33º, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., Gift of Franklin A. Smith, Jr.
74.1.47

White silk Masonic apron, hand painted Masonic motifs; three columns with Hercules, Athena and Venus on top of columns, mosaic floor, sun and moon and stars, "G" and other symbols, all seeing eye on flap; pleated blue silk ribbon trim; probably Master Mason's apron. Animal-shaped body with rounded flap.

This hand-painted apron shows a composition inspired, in part, by a printed Masonic certificate. The central image features three columns topped by figures representing Athena, Hercules and Venus who, in turn, symbolize the Masonic virtues of Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. The arrangement of three evenly placed columns supporting figures was used on certificates and aprons printed in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. This apron illustration shows how certificates could inform apron designs in the early 1800s. For further information, see Newell, Aimee E., "The Badge of a Freemason," 2015. p.150-151.