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Lot Essay
Paul Revere became a freemason in 1760 at the St. Andrew's Lodge and was active until about 1810. In 1792, he served on a committee of freemasons that compiled a volume of their beliefs and rituals. They described their work as "an institution for the promotion of the most extensive philanthropy, the most diffusive and disinterested benevolence and universal virtue." Revere also founded two more lodges in Boston: the Massachusetts Grand Lodge in 1769 and the Rising States Lodge in 1784.
Paul Revere's masonic memberships earned him numerous silver and gold work commissions. Nearly half of Revere's customers were freemasons, and he made objects both for them personally and for their lodges which included ladles, seals, jewels, and medals. (Edith J. Steblecki, "Fraternity, Philanthropy, and Revolution: Paul Revere and Freemasonry," Paul Revere--Artisan, Businessman, and Patriot: The Man Behind the Myth, 1989, pp. 117-147)
This particular cup is the only known surviving piece of marked Revere hollowware with masonic decoration. The only other known piece of masonic hollowware is an unmarked gold memorial urn which is in the collection of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and attributed to Revere (Kane, p. 818). For a listing of objects Revere made for various lodges see Patricia Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, 1998, pp. 806-845.
Paul Revere's masonic memberships earned him numerous silver and gold work commissions. Nearly half of Revere's customers were freemasons, and he made objects both for them personally and for their lodges which included ladles, seals, jewels, and medals. (Edith J. Steblecki, "Fraternity, Philanthropy, and Revolution: Paul Revere and Freemasonry," Paul Revere--Artisan, Businessman, and Patriot: The Man Behind the Myth, 1989, pp. 117-147)
This particular cup is the only known surviving piece of marked Revere hollowware with masonic decoration. The only other known piece of masonic hollowware is an unmarked gold memorial urn which is in the collection of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and attributed to Revere (Kane, p. 818). For a listing of objects Revere made for various lodges see Patricia Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, 1998, pp. 806-845.