Lodge Master

Lodge Master

An elected officer, the Worshipful Master, presides over a Masonic lodge. Many objects in this image point to the subject’s role as Master of his lodge. In many jurisdictions, lodge masters wear a top hat, a symbol of their authority in the lodge. The man in this portrait holds a gavel, used to direct lodge meetings. He wears a badge of office in the shape of Masonic symbol, the square, and an apron decorated also bearing the same symbol. In Freemasonry, a square symbolizes virtue and is the emblem of the lodge master.

For more on this object please visit the online collection record here.

Special Acquisitions Fund, 88.42.9

Samuel Broadbent (1810-1880), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

ca. 1855