Mug, 1790-1800 England Special Acquisitions Fund, 76.51

In the early 1800s, potters manufactured mugs and other vessels embellished with Masonic-themed prints in great numbers. Imported to America for Masonic consumers, these fashionable and decorative objects were used in lodges and in private homes. The arms of the Moderns (a faction of Freemasons), featuring three castles and a compasses, is at center of the print on this mug. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts used similar arms in the 1700s and often accompanied their arms with the motto “Follow Reason.” An embroiderer stitched the arms and the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts motto onto the apron above. Some of the designs featured on English pitchers, punch bowls, and mugs decorated with transfer prints, may have inspired craftsmen and needlewomen when they were creating embroidered, painted, and printed aprons for American Masons.