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Post by Tamrin on Jul 8, 2008 7:33:48 GMT 10
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Post by Tamrin on Jul 9, 2008 6:13:39 GMT 10
Here we have yet another female personification of Freemasonry surmounted by a five-pointed star. The letters on the two pillars show them to be those associated with the first and second degrees, while she stands on a pedestal bearing the initials ‘M’ and ‘B,’ signifying the word of a Master Mason and revealing her to be the pillar properly belonging to that degree. At the base of the pedestal are a hammer and shattered chain, signifying her liberation, together with a broken demonic mask, suggesting her true nature is no longer concealed by a false visage. One, hooded figure with his back turned to her holds a stiletto and is carrying rosary beads, suggesting a ‘Silas’ type character (the fanatical monk in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code). The text accompanying the image reads: Elle aide l'infortune et tarit tous les pleurs: 'veuves, enfants, vieillards en elle out un refuge. De'elle vient la lumiére, et, la prenant pour juge l'esclave lui demande un term á ses douleurs. This roughly translates as: It relieves their misfortune and dries the tears of: widows, children and the old and homeless. From it comes the Light, and, esteeming its judgment, the slave appeals for mercy. Bearing in mind the title of the illustration, 'Freemasonry Helping Humanity,' and the accompanying words, 'From it comes the Light,,' we find the sentiments are akin to those of Emma Lazarus, as expressed in The New Colossus, associated with the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, a.k.a., The Statue of Liberty. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
*** Another French illustration, similar to the previous icon, except all three pillars are represented by women and, while haloed by stars, the surmounting star of the central figure is, as is found elsewhere, represented by the Tetragrammaton, as the name of God. Freemasonry Instructing the PeopleCharles Mercereau, 1875, Giclee Print, France The Lessons of Masonry, mid-19th century. Colour lithograph, Musé de la Franc-Maçonnerie. Paris. Photo12.com The painting ... presents the universal nature of Freemasonry, represented here as a woman to reflect the Order's charitable and humanitarian qualities. Beside her stand personifications of Silence and Truth, while all around are Masons of many cultures and faiths, identified by national or ethnic dress, including Scots, Chinese and ArabsW. Kirk MacNulty, Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets, Significance, Thames & Hudson Ltd., London, 2006, pp.216/7
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 21, 2009 18:56:28 GMT 10
Would someone please provide some context for this illustration. Does anyone have an image of it with better resolution? Are the initials on the pedestal "M" and "B"?
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 23, 2009 20:20:02 GMT 10
A suggestion has been made (thank you Damocles and TFCFM2, T3P) that it is the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol Building. While that statue is posed differently from the one depicted amid the masonic assembly, the assumption might still be correct as it may well be an artist's interpretation, with a Capitol like building depicted in the background. Damocles called the statue Persephone (a suggestion repeated elsewhere on the net) and TFCFM2 considered the image to be more French in style rather than American or British (with which I concur).
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Post by Tamrin on Feb 23, 2009 20:28:39 GMT 10
The Statue of Freedom A Brief History[Excerpt - phoenixmasonry.org - Linked Above]
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Post by Tamrin on May 10, 2009 17:01:48 GMT 10
Please imagine, if you will, the statue in the first image depicted on this thread coming to life and stepping off her pedestal. I expect it would look something like this: F. Louvion, Engraving to commemorate a venture by French Freemasons to relieve suffering during the difficult winter of 1789. © The Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London, Photograph by Painton Cowen In Europe the winter of 1789 was very severe, and French Freemasons undertook to provide relief for those suffering from the situation: The text around the edge of the image reads: 'Good Deeds unite the Citizens of the World from one Pole to the Other'.W. Kirk MacNulty, Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets, Significance, Thames & Hudson Ltd., London, 2006, pp.220/1
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Post by Tamrin on Jun 4, 2009 21:01:44 GMT 10
The prototype on the right was rejected because of the liberty cap and its association with freed slaves.
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Post by Tamrin on Sept 27, 2009 9:11:35 GMT 10
The association of Marianne with an eagle (or Phoenix) had precedence:
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Post by Tamrin on Jan 20, 2011 20:39:24 GMT 10
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Post by Tamrin on Jul 3, 2013 12:48:44 GMT 10
Here we have yet another female personification of Freemasonry surmounted by a five-pointed star. The letters on the two pillars show them to be those associated with the first and second degrees, while she stands on a pedestal bearing the initials ‘M’ and ‘B,’ signifying the word of a Master Mason and revealing her to be the pillar properly belonging to that degree. At the base of the pedestal are a hammer and shattered chain, signifying her liberation, together with a broken demonic mask, suggesting her true nature is no longer concealed by a false visage. One, hooded figure with his back turned to her holds a stiletto and is carrying rosary beads, suggesting a ‘Silas’ type character (the fanatical monk in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code). Here she comes, running, out of prison and off the pedestal: chains off, crown off, halo off, just a live woman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Born this day 1860)
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