A LARGE AND RARE FAMILLE ROSE MASONIC PUNCHBOWL Qianlong period, circa 1780 This handsome large bowl enameled on the exterior and interior in 'rose' enamels, iron-red and gilt with Masonic and architectural symbols including calipers, a set-square flanked by beehives, various carpenters' tools, pillars (representing the Temple of Solomon's pillars), and the monogram 'G' (for God or geometry) surmounted by a sheaf of corn, within images of the sun, the moon, rain clouds, and stars, all beneath a thin border band of elegant scrolling loops broken by the motif of two clubs encircled by a snake biting its own tail. 20 1/2in (52cm) diam Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1780年 粉彩描紅描金《共濟會典儀》潘趣酒碗 Provenance: Christie's New York, January 2012/13, The Fredinghensen Sale Published: Cohen & Cohen, Think Pink!, Antwerp, 2013, pp. 78-79, no. 52 來源： 紐約佳士得，2012/13年，《The Fredinghensen Sale》 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Think Pink!》，安特衛普，2013年，頁78-79，圖版編號52 Masonic bowls were generally 'special order' wares because of their limited commercial appeal to the general public, probably commissioned for Masonic lodges or individual members ('brothers') throughout Western Europe and East Coast America. Masonic emblems on Chinese export porcelain are rare. This bowl is a fine example of the type. The origins of freemasonry are uncertain, but supposedly going back to the builders of Solomon's temple. There were lodges or associations of stonemasons in medieval times and in the seventeenth century there were many guilds that operated box clubs where members contributed to help those who fell on hard times – and such clubs often had simple initiation ceremonies, passwords and hierarchical membership. These lodges were forming in a time of extreme religious turbulence, and it is argued that they were an attempt to build a better society and, in the custom of the times, used complex symbolism and allegory to express their ideas. The series of designs on this bowl illustrate some of these. Masons were found throughout the large trading companies and the merchant navy, and especially in the East India Companies. An interesting range of pieces is known with Masonic designs - almost all would have been special private orders, and none were made in large numbers. This bowl is exceptionally large - and bowls of this size were mostly made for the American market. References: Howard & Ayers, 1978, pp. 323-328, for various Masonic items; Schiffer, 1980, pp. 137-142, for American market wares; Hervouët & Bruneau, 1986, pp. 278-290, for numerous Masonic porcelains; Howard, 1974, p. 729, a pair of armorial salts inscribed 'Brother Richard Meriton'; Cohen & Cohen, 2007, no. 31, p. 52, for a smaller bowl with identical decoration but inscribed on the base 'Brother Joseph Elliott'; and Arapova, et al, 2003, no. 66, p. 60, a Masonic punchbowl.