Fraternal Staff1860–190040 1/2 × 4 × 3 1/4"Paint and gold leaf on woodGift of Kendra and Allan Daniel2015.1.14401555445151Artist unidentifiedTools and EquipmentThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. United StatesThree Dimensional WorksFraternal Art and ObjectsThis staff has a form and style that strongly suggest it was used by a fraternal group; however, it is not marked with any specific symbols or inscriptions, so we are left to wonder who originally used it. Several catalogs for nineteenth-century regalia companies illustrate scepters that would have been carried by various characters, often kings, in the rituals. Such sources—regalia catalogs, old photographs, published histories and monitors (ritual guidebooks), and other ephemera—help to identify and interpret fraternal objects that are removed from their original contexts.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Fraternal Staff," 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.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org18601900 2015 1 144 This staff has a form and style that strongly suggest it was used by a fraternal group; however, it is not marked with any specific symbols or inscriptions, so we are left to wonder who originally used it. Several catalogs for nineteenth-century regalia companies illustrate scepters that would have been carried by various characters, often kings, in the rituals. Such sources—regalia catalogs, old photographs, published histories and monitors (ritual guidebooks), and other ephemera—help to identify and interpret fraternal objects that are removed from their original contexts.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Fraternal Staff," 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.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org