Prisme des Vertus

Three faces. Three virtues. One prism set at the center of the lodge.

IVSTITIA · TEMPERANTIA · PRVDENTIA — the three Cardinal Virtues of the Rectified Scottish Rite, rendered in classical Roman capitals on a solid hardwood prism sized for the Master's Table. The Worshipful Master rotates the prism through the work of the evening so the virtue called for at each phase of the ritual is the face presented to the lodge.

It is a piece of working furniture, not a display object. The shape, the lettering, and the function are all set by the rite.

Construction

The carcass is solid poplar, mitered along the three long edges and glued so the three faces meet flush at sharp ridges. The triangular profile is equilateral — 4½ inches per side, with a 14-inch length — sized to read clearly from the floor of the lodge while sitting comfortably on the Master's Table. Each face is finished in a matte black ground with the virtue name in glossy white, the form carried over from period French Rectified manuals.

The piece is built and finished by hand in Virginia by two initiated practitioners. The construction is identical between the two editions; the difference is in the application of the lettering.

Editions

Standard Edition — $185. Matte black adhesive vinyl ground. Glossy white adhesive vinyl lettering, precision-cut in classical Roman capitals to a consistent Roman-square proportion. The vinyl is chosen for a sharp, stable edge and a clean reading surface. The economical answer for a single lodge body, for travel furniture that takes packing and unpacking, or as a first set before a Premier commission.

Handcrafted to order.

Premier Edition — $285. Matte black hand-painted ground. Glossy white hand-lettered virtue names in the same classical Roman capitals. The hand of the artist is visible in the lettering — the small variations the eye can read but cannot describe — and the painted finish has a depth that vinyl, however precise, cannot match.

Optional gilt lettering in 24k gold leaf — add $45.

Handcrafted to order.

Custom Commissions

Lodge bodies requiring alternate virtue sets, additional Cardinal Virtue faces beyond the standard three, color schemes specific to the lodge or jurisdiction, or matching sets of Master's Table Furniture may inquire directly. We work from the lodge's exact ritual specifications. For Premier-edition gilding in alternate metals (silver leaf, palladium), or for inscriptions in scripts other than Roman capitals, please ask.

Order

Submit an inquiry with the edition, optional gilding, and your lodge's preferred timeline. We confirm the specification and the shipping window before work begins.

Standard $185 · Premier $285 · 14″ long · Solid poplar · Handcrafted in Virginia