PROBABLY DRESDEN, CIRCA 1750

Following the suppression of freemasonary by Pope Clement XII in 1738, Clemens August, Archbishop Elector of Cologne and Prince-Bishop of Munster, Hildesheim and Osnabruck founded an alternative pseudo-Masonic order in Germany and Sweden known as 'Mopsorden', the Order of the Pug. The order was at its most active between 1740 and 1782 and aimed to provide members with a legitimate substitute for Masonic social rites. Its members were largely Roman Catholics and, unlike in traditional German masonry, women were admitted to the order. The pug was chosen as a symbol of loyalty, trustworthiness and steadiness. In addition to Royal members, the organisation attracted many members of the nobility. Amongst these, mention should be made of Heinrich, Count von Bruhl (1700-1763), who was Prime Minister from 1746 under Augustus III of Saxony. As well as a diplomat, he was director of the Meissen factory, located near to the city of Dresden, from 1733 till 1763. He was one of the 18th century's greatest collectors in a wide range of fields including Meissen snuff-boxes. Incidentally and probably not coincidentally, he is known to have kept several pug dogs.