Amazing Late 19th Century Large Masonic Perforated Paper Embroidery, With Provenance boy's hunting notebook Maybe made as a finial

Maybe made as a finial of some sort

and also as if it might carry magical powers

They have definitely been used with embedded soiling--especially evident on the backs-- but I personally love them all the more for it

He went on to teach at the Worcester Art Museum and Clark University for 43 years

and are stable now

Amazing Late 19th Century Large Masonic Perforated Paper Embroidery, With Provenance boy's hunting notebook Maybe made as a finialI see a fair number of late 19th century "Home Sweet Home" punch perforated paper needlepoint embroideries, but I don't believe I've come across a Masonic example, at least not one nearly as elaborate as this one, the iconography of which most closely resembles that found on elaborate antique silk Masonic aprons. A note taped to the back tells us this was the work of a Gertrude O'Connor of Harvey, Illinois, made for her husband Benjamin, a member of