Description: An antique Masonic sash/collar type vestment with twelve graduating stars and monogrammed with V L P or V I P on the left side and No 103 on right side. Red white and blue colors make this a great piece of Americana. Metallic fringe edge and a round faceted red glass at the front closure further decorate the cloth. This ceremonial regalia has been framed under glass. Likely Masonic.

History: The fortunes of American Freemasonry declined sharply following the Morgan Affair, only to rebound as the force of the Anti-Masonic movement sputtered out in the mid-1830s. By the late 1850s, masonry in America was the subject of renewed popular interest and lodge membership, which had bottomed out during the anti-Masonic period began to rise. By the time of the American Civil War, U.S. freemasonry tripled its membership from 66,000 to 200,000 members in over 5000 lodges nationwide. This surge in membership helps explain, at least in part, the many stories of Masonic fraternization during the American Civil War, which include accounts of Masonic soldiers and sailors rescuing enemy combatants who identified themselves as members of the fraternity. Masonic incidents are also recorded involving Freemasons burying their own with Masonic formalities during battle, as well as aid and special treatment given to Masonic POWs.

Provenance: N/A

Dimensions: Weight (Pounds & Ounces) = 5.5 | Height(in) = 24 | Width(in) = 22 | Depth(in) = 1.5

Size of Artwork(in): 18 x 17" sight

Artist Name: American

Medium: Silk, linen, metallic fringe.

Circa: 1870

Colors have faded, some soiling.