Posted 11 years ago
Vintagemas…
(5 items)
These are the two oldest pins in my collection as I believe they date to Circa 1800. The one on the left has the common gavel with a green enameled sprig of acacia at the bottom. Above that is the masonic apron with a square & compass and the "all seeing eye" of providence on the flap. It took me a while to puzzle out what was on top of the apron until I realized it was a wig. Short wigs like this were still being worn by men into the early 1800s, especially for people of importance. Once you realize the top is a wig then you see that there is actually a figural representation to this pin, with the apron as the head, the Square & Compass as the mouth, the "all seeing eye" as the eye and the wig as the hair. The one on the right is similarly composed expect is has the plumb at the bottom and the hair is composed of the ties for the apron. They are both 10K gold with the tallest one measuring ~ 1" tall.