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Lot Essay
The name on the case refers to Giuseppe Balsamo (1743-1795), who in 1777 assumed the name of Alessandro, Count of Cagliostro. He became famous throughout Europe, including England, as an alchemist, healer, and magician, and also for his involvement in Freemasonry. Constantly pursued by his creditors and the authorities, he travelled through much of Europe staying for many years at the court of Louis XVI until forced to flee, owing to his involvement in the scandal of the Queen's Necklace - a swindle involving a diamond necklace allegedly bought by Queen Marie Antoinette. He was a friend of the Comte de Saint-Germain, who initiated Cagliostro into Egyptian Freemasonry. Eventually imprisoned by the Inquisition, he was sentenced to death, but the Pope commuted this to life imprisonment. His death in prison in 1795 was not widely accepted, and Napoleon was forced to commission an independent report to prove that he was at last dead
The ritual of Cagliostro's system of 'Egyptian Masonry', which, from 1777, he tried to have adopted all over Europe, included the Master drawing mystical circles in the air with a 'sword' in the four corners of the Lodge. It seems likely that this was the purpose of the knife
For an account of the Egyptian Rite, see H. Ivanoff, 'Cagliostro in Eastern Europe', Transactions of the Quattro Coronati Lodge, privately printed (date unknown), pp. 49-50
The ritual of Cagliostro's system of 'Egyptian Masonry', which, from 1777, he tried to have adopted all over Europe, included the Master drawing mystical circles in the air with a 'sword' in the four corners of the Lodge. It seems likely that this was the purpose of the knife
For an account of the Egyptian Rite, see H. Ivanoff, 'Cagliostro in Eastern Europe', Transactions of the Quattro Coronati Lodge, privately printed (date unknown), pp. 49-50