Lady of the Order of the Pug and a Cavalier of the Order of the Freemasons. Meissen. Circa 1745-50. Model by Johann Joachim Kaendler, 1744 and 1743. Porcelain, enriched in colours and in gilt. The lady is shown wearing a wide hoop-skirt and standing on a high, rectangular plinth with tapering sides and marbled reserves. Her coat dress is decorated with indian flowers. A pug dog can be seen peeking out from under her skirt, and she is holding a second pug in her left arm. Both dogs are wearing blue collars with lilac flowers. The cavalier also stands on a high, rectangular plinth with tapering sides and marbled reserves. His courtly attire includes a wig, tricorn, gray frock-coat with a pattern of stars and a golden vest with indian flowers. He also wears a triangular white leather apron with yellow corners and a blue ribbon around his neck, from which hangs a golden square. He holds his right finger pressed to his lips, and the left arm rests upon a pedestal next to him, on which a square and plumb-line are laid. a) Height 29cm, width ca. 22cm. b) Height 30,5cm. Condition B. a) Faint crossed swords marking on inside of the plinth b) Very faint crossed swords mark, and the remains of a hand-written note in black ink on the base of the plinth. Literature: - Köllmann, Erich: Der Mopsorden, in: Keramos, 50, 1970, pg.73-82. - Rafael, Johannes: On 'Taxa Kaendler', in: Keramos, 203/204, 2009, pg.25-69. - Rückert, Rainer: Meissener Porzellan, München 1966, pg.168, nr.872 for the freemason group. The freemason figure was first moulded by Kaendler in 1743. The Taxa Kaendler description states: '1. Frey Maurer mit Schurzfell und anderer Zubehör auf einem postament wohl angekleidet stehend, in der einen Hand einen Grund Riß habend, neben welchem postament, darauff Winckel-Haacken, Transpoteur, Circul, Bley Waage und dergl. liegen, ... 6.Thlr..' (Rafael(2009), pg.54f., nr.106). The known versions of the figure all vary slightly in the details. For example, some figures include a pug dog at the feet of the cavalier, or in the place of the pedestal. The figure usually holds a roll of paper in the right hand, but there are also variations of this detail, such as a statuette in the collection of Prof. Ernst Schneider in Schloß Lustheim which holds a hammer instead of the roll. The figure here represents one of the many variations on this theme, and holds his right finger to his lips as a sign of secrecy. This gesture is seen in another freemason group which Kaendler moulded in 1744 (see Rückert (1966), fig.872, pg.210). The model for the lady of the order of the pug was moulded shortly after her male counterpart in June 1744. The Taxa Kaendler text states: '1. Dame vom Mopß Orden, auf einem postament stehend in der lincken Hand einen Mopß Hund haltend, auch einen zum Füßen liegend, vor die Printzeßin von Herfordt,... 10.Thlr..' (Rafael (2009), pg.61, nr.182). Further variations on both figures can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (Inv.-Nr. C.796-1936), the porcelain collection of the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Inv.-Nr. P.E.180), the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York (Inv.-Nr. 64.101.49 and 64.101.50) or the Musée National de Céramique in Sèvres. Following Pope Clemens' XII papal bull of 1738, in which membership of the order of the freemasons was made punishable by excommunication, the order of the pug was founded in 1740 as an alternative, probably by Clemens August of Bavaria. The statutes and rituals were similar, except that women were also permitted to join as long as they were catholic. The pug dog was chosen as the order's emblem for being a symbol of loyalty, resolution and trustworthiness.