Order of the Eastern Star Porcelain Bell with Yellow Rose and Violets, Circa 1960s-1970s

Small porcelain dinner bell with a gold-tipped handle, a painted yellow rose and violets, and a small OES star emblem at the shoulder. Bells like this were popular gifts for chapter officers. The Order of the Eastern Star, founded in the 1850s by Rob Morris and formally organized in 1876, is the largest fraternal order open to both men and women. Its five-pointed emblem honors five heroines of scripture, Adah, Ruth, Esther, Martha and Electa, each with her own color and symbol: the sword and veil, the sheaf of wheat, the crown and scepter, the broken column and the cup. Chapters across America used and gifted emblem china like this at banquets, installations and fundraisers, and members kept it as a keepsake of their chapter. Light wear.