Collection Highlights
Draft wheel
ca. 1863
1865.6
Wood, metal
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Punch bowl
Object name
Punch bowl
Date
ca. 1795
Medium
Porcelain
Dimensions
Overall: 5 x 11 1/2 in. ( 12.7 x 29.2 cm )
Description
Circular hard-paste porcelain punch bowl decorated with Masonic imagery in polychrome enamels; center of bowl interior with two pillars on either side of a sun with the letter "G" at center; sides of bowl interior painted with stars, sun, moon, and rain; exterior of bowl with Masonic symbols of industry, including compass and square, beehive, and scythe.
Credit Line
Gift of Samuel V. Hoffman
Object Number
1925.28
Gallery Label
This Chinese export porcelain punch bowl belonged to Chancellor Robert R. Livingston (1746-1813). It is decorated with Masonic symbols, including a sun, moon, "G," square, beehive, and scythe. The bowl may have been presented to the Chancellor by his fellow Freemasons around 1795. Freemasons, a fraternal order still in existence today, counted many Founding Fathers among their members.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
