Royal Arch Mason Jewel
Belonging to Worshipful Brother General Israel Putnam
Probably New England,
1775-1800
Silver
John W. and Christiana G.P. Batdorf Fund, 2015.35
Introduced into the
American colonies around 1730, Freemasonry achieved great popularity after the
American Revolution. Enthusiasm for this fraternal society grew alongside
interest in the intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment and new
theories on equality. Jewelry as well as other regalia played an important
role in Masonic rituals and ceremonies. The symbols engraved on this medal are
primarily drawn from the manual tools of stonemasons, such as the square and
compass, the level and plumb rule, and the trowel. This medal also makes use of
the pigpen or Masonic cipher, a simple geometric substitution code, which
replaces each letter of the alphabet with a different symbol. The inscriptions
translate as “I AM WHAT I AM” (1 Corinthians 15:10), and “LET THERE BE LIGHT AND
THERE WAS LIGHT” (Genesis 1:3). This silver medal descended in the Putnam family
of Connecticut and may have been owned by General Israel Putnam (1718-1790) of
Pomfret.
Reposted from:
Historic
Deerfield
PO Box 321
84B Old Main Street
Deerfield, MA 01342
413-774-5581
http://www.historic-deerfield.org/discover-deerfield/collections/recent-acquisitions/
