A MEISSEN PORCELAIN 'ORDER OF THE PUG' CRINOLINE FIGURE

After Freemasonary was suppressed by the Pope in 1738, Clemens August of Bavaria (1700-1761), Archbishop Elector of Cologne, founded an alternative pseudo-masonic order in Germany and Sweden to provide members with a legitimate substitute for masonic social rites. Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony was the grand-master of the order in Saxony. It admitted women, was principally composed of Roman Catholics and was active between 1740 and 1782. The pug-dog, symbolizing the attributes of devotion and fidelity, was used as its emblem. It is interesting to note that the Director of the manufactory, Count Brühl, was particularly fond of pug-dogs.