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Independent Order of Odd Fellows First Degree Banner
Possibly the Henderson-Ames Company
Phot…
Independent Order of Odd Fellows First Degree Banner
Independent Order of Odd Fellows First Degree Banner
Possibly the Henderson-Ames Company
Phot…
Independent Order of Odd Fellows First Degree Banner Possibly the Henderson-Ames Company Photo by José Andrés Ramírez
Record Details

Independent Order of Odd Fellows First Degree Banner

Date1882–1930
Place/RegionKalamazoo, Michigan, United States
MediumEmbroidery thread on silk, with bullion and metal
Dimensions28 1/2 × 21"
Credit LineGift of Kendra and Allan Daniel
Accession number2015.1.16
CopyrightCopyright for this work is under review.
Description

These banners were used during rituals in the Odd Fellows lodge, and were held by a member who was the “banner bearer.” By 1882, when the degree structure was changed, the color and symbols were associated with the First, or Friendship, Degree. Prior to that date, however, they would have been used for the Second, or Love, Degree. The images of the bow and arrows paralleled the use of three-dimensional wood bow and arrow props in the lodge. During the ritual, the biblical story of the friendship and love between Jonathan and David was reenacted. Just as the symbols depicted on banners held certain meanings, so did the color of the silks. Pink was understood to be a combination of red, the symbol of divine love, and white, the symbol of divine wisdom. Pink thus became the symbol for a love of divine wisdom.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Independent Order of Odd Fellows First Degree Banner," exhibition label for Mystery and Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2016.

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