Lustereware love handled cup, this cup is in perfect condition and is full of Masonic Symbolism including the Square and Compasses, Beehive, Trowel, Pillars, Gavel and the Blazing Sun on one side and on the other the wording “Hail! MASONRY divine! Glory of ages shine, Long mayst thou reign! Whereer thy LODGES stand, May they have great command, And always grace the land, Thou ART divine!”. Around the wording are the various badges of officers of the Lodge the Master, Senior and Junior Warden, Treasurer and Secretary, and Past Master, along with the All-Seeing Eye at the top of the cup.
Love handled cups are two-handled and often made of silver, that may take many forms. In the past, at weddings, banquets, or meetings, a loving cup might be shared by several persons for ceremonial drinking, symbolizing friendship and unity.
Lustreware or lusterware (the respective spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an overglaze finish, which is given a second firing at a lower temperature in a “muffle kiln”, or a reduction kiln, excluding oxygen.
The technique of lustreware on pottery was first developed in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in the early 9th century. Initially mostly decorated with geometric patterns, Lustreware was not made in England before the start of the 19th century, and was initially developed in Staffordshire, where Wedgwood developed a pink or gold lustre finish about 1805, which they sold as “Moonlight”
This pottery is now very collectible. It is normally found in a pink form, but orange and other colours are also found. Typical pieces are plaques with moral or religious images and texts, and jugs featuring a design incorporating the bridge over the River Wear, or various heraldic – especially Masonic.
