‘Bling and things, Part II’

Masonic Week 2010: Cejalvo

Next to the display of Toye USA’s regalia and jewelry was Bro. John von Blauch representing his family business Cejalvo which, among other things, is the court jeweler of Spain’s royal family. There is no point in comparing and contrasting the two firms’ manufacturing prowess; both will make anything a client desires, and do so in ways that will induce irregular heartbeats. But Bro. John’s display was not only different from Toye USA’s, it was exotic for the one-of-a-kind pieces piled atop each other, with more being added every time John found something else in his pockets. Antiques, commemoratives, heirlooms, custom pieces, historical items, glorious golds, dazzling diamonds, seductive silvers – it was a crazy menagerie of familiar Masonic items alongside many delightfully improbable sights.

I will not attempt to identify most of the items you are about to see. Bro. John patiently described most of them, but it’s been a couple of weeks, and I forgot most of what he said.

Above: A variety of beautiful collars and sashes of different Masonic orders. The green of course belongs to the Allied Masonic Degrees. The two black sashes are Kadosh regalia of the Scottish Rite, and the white collar is for the 31° of the AASR.

Right: Thanks to its red lining, this Knight of Malta robe has a supernatural presence in the sunlight! (Purely coincidental, I think, that it seemingly hangs on a cross.)

Above: Rose Croix and 33° regalia.

Above left: This sublime heartbreaker in pewter tone is a commemorative medal issued by the United Grand Lodge of England to those brethren who served in the First World War. Right: There was a great story behind that gold Level. Damned if I can remember. (Two months of insomnia is driving me to madness.)

Above left: The Pentagrammaton.

Above right: A locket from 1901 issued by UGLE’s Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

The jewel in the center is an English Royal Arch piece. It was made about 30 years ago for a VIP, replete with real diamonds. At the bar Wednesday morning for our first round of drinks together, John passed this around. I would say it weighs about three ounces.

Above: A ring purportedly owned by Daniel Coxe.
Below: the sides of the ring.

For one of the higher ranks in the Royal Order of Eri
in the Allied Masonic Degrees.

When the Masonic apron is presented to the Apprentice, it is explained that the ritual garment is “more ancient than the Golden Fleece.” This is not a reference to Greek mythology. It is mention of an order of knighthood created in the 15th century by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy and the Netherlands.

It still exists, and this is what they wear:

Again, I have to apologize for the quality of some of these photos. Bro. John’s tables were shaded by curtains, so the sunlight/shadows were not as problematic as with the shots of Toye USA (see below). The foil this time is glass. John told me a dozen times to just lift the lids of the display cases, but I wasn’t comfortable futzing around with the goods. “You break it, you buy it” came to mind!

Bro. Michael Seay and Bro. John von Blauch.

‘Bling and things’

Masonic Week 2010: Toye USA

The generous and gracious underwriter of what was to be The Art of Initiation is Toye USA, the brand new subsidiary of Toye, Kenning & Spencer, Ltd., maker of jewels and regalia for the British royal family for the past 325 years.

With a sizable display staffed by Michael Seay and Charles Toye himself, the firm introduced itself to the American Masonic market. Michael can be reached at:  mike.seay@toye.com

Bro. John and Bro. Christopher check out the goods at Toye USA’s display at Masonic Week 2010 earlier this month. (More on Bro. John and his wares tomorrow.) And yes, that is a miter in the background!

I have bad news for the existing suppliers of Masonic regalia and supplies: Toye USA is going to clobber you. Simpson, Klitzner, Luther, LAFSCO, et al. have been selling inferior goods at premium prices for years, but now you have a competitor who will take your clientele away by delivering beautiful products at competitive prices. Oh, and their wares are manufactured in Britain, not China.

The photos speak for themselves:

As above: The Master Mason apron frequently seen in lodges in Britain, and increasingly in the United States, in lodges that are allowed to choose their own regalia without a uniformity mandated by their grand lodges. The brethren of John’s Lodge No. 1 in New York City wear this apron.

So below: Another such lodge is Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, Indiana, which adopted several characteristics of the European Concept movement. Note the officer collar as well. (Sorry for the shadow. Unavoidable, thanks to the nearby window.)

As above: The English Royal Arch grand rank apron. Also seen elsewhere in the English-speaking Masonic world. Please do not think that Toye provides only English regalia. They specialize in bespoke craftsmanship, and will make your regalia according to your specifications.

So below: You didn’t think I’d miss the 18° apron of Rose Croix, did you?

Two aprons – Top: Mark Master Mason. Bottom: Royal Ark Mariner.

Collars, clockwise from right: Rose Croix, Kadosh & another Rose Croix.
Below: Close-up shot of Knight Kadosh collar.

Above: A variety of Ark Mariner, Order of Secret Monitor, Royal Arch,

Rose Croix, Royal Order of Scotland and other interesting specimens.

Above and below: Assortments of breast jewels and badges.

Toye USA makes custom pieces for lodges. Above: Publicity Lodge No. 1000 in New York City commissioned these jewels and cufflinks for its members. Mounted on the card at top are lapel pins in the style worn by the Masonic Rosicrucians: a simple round pin on a protruding rosette. Red is for Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2, and orange is for Holland Lodge No. 8, both in the First Manhattan District of the Grand Lodge of New York.

As above: Cufflinks in the blue of Craft Masonry.

So below: The rainbow of Royal Ark Mariner.

Actually, these photos do not speak well for themselves. The lighting was impossible, due to the display tables being set next to the windows, resulting in all kinds of shadows and yellow glare. And besides, one truly must hold these objects. There is a tactile pleasure to be enjoyed. The weight of the metals, and the lustre of their colors and enameling. The thickness of fabrics, and intricacies of embroidery. The faithfulness to symbols, and creativity of designs. Really wonderful.

P.S.     I hate the word bling. Hate it.

‘National Brotherhood Week’

There used to be a society named the National Conference for Community and Justice (regional organizations remain today), which managed to advance a cause resulting in the third week of February being designated National Brotherhood Week. In retrospect, with the irony and detachment so affordable in 2010 with our precisely crafted à la carte “holidays” and postage stamps patronizing persons and causes of dubious merits and tribal identities, it’s so innocent. But irony is timeless. More than 40 years ago, the great Tom Lehrer held up this annual celebration to the cold gray light of human nature.

Take it away, Maestro:



Couldn’t let the third week of February come to a close without a salute to the ideals of National Brotherhood Week. Have a great weekend! Magpie coverage of Masonic Week 2010 will resume next week.

‘Scottish Rite, PHA style’

Tuesday night was a memorable one for Northern New Jersey Chapter of Rose Croix on the occasion of the visit of Ill. John Bettis, 33º, Grand Inspector General and 2nd Lt. Commander of the Council of Deliberation, Orient of New Jersey, A&ASR, PHA. But don’t let the lengthy titles fool you; John is one of the most down to earth men in Freemasonry.

He spoke for about 90 minutes on history, customs, usages, and other aspects of Prince Hall Scottish Rite Masonry. I wish it could have gone on a little bit longer because I wanted to ask him to describe his jurisdiction’s methods of working degrees. I think there is a lot that our PHA brethren can teach us. But what he did reveal was, I trust, enlightening to his audience. For example, the rituals and the degree structure of the Prince Hall United Supreme Council Northern Jurisdiction closely resemble those of the Mother Supreme Council. In fact, the PHA brethren are closer to the original model than we are.

And while this might be an apt time to quip about our Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s “George Washington Degree,” and the often lamented absence of orthodoxy it represents, allow me to share Ill. Bettis’ explanation of his jurisdiction’s 20º, which he said includes a section titled “The Light of Patriotism,” with ritual that places Bro. Washington and Bro. Prince Hall together in discussion on the rights of free men of color to bear arms and fight in the Revolutionary War which, in turn, led to a historical point. In 1812, when British forces were preparing to assault Philadelphia, approximately 3,000 men of color assembled at the port to defend their city. A reporter asked if former slaves really were going to defend the nation, to which W. Bro. Richard Allen said “This land, which is made by our tears and our blood, is our mother land.”

Bettis opened some eyes with his talk of W. Allen. He is the father of the African Methodist Episcopal Church movement, as well as a founding father of Prince Hall Masonry. “In the African-American community, the two oldest institutions are the AME church and Prince Hall Masonry,” Bettis said. “Wherever an AME church was founded, a Masonic lodge went with it.”

He covered a lot in an hour and a half, more than can be repeated here. But he does want everyone to know that on May 13, the Prince Hall Conference of Grand Masters will meet in Boston, at which time the Prince Hall Monument at Cambridge Common will be dedicated, and where the original charter of African Lodge No. 459 will be temporarily removed from its home in a bank vault, and placed on display.

The Magpie News Service hopes to cover that event.

Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis

Masonic Week 2010: The Rosicrucians

The High Council Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (Rosicrucian Society of the United States) met on Thursday.

From left: Thurman, Marcel, Rob, David, X, and Billy.

Left: Tony Clifton.

Right: David Dixon Goodwin, IX°, GC, Junior Deputy Supreme Magus.

Grand Archivist David Lindez, IX°, GC

and Sean Graystone, IX°, Third Acolyte.

Left: Thurman C. Pace, Jr., Past Supreme Magus.

Right: Aaron Shoemaker, IX°, Director of Ceremonies.

David with Supreme Magus William H. Koon II, IX°, KGC.

David D. Goodwin with X.

(Sorry for the blur. I shot this from very far away.)

Richard Van Doren, left, with Thurman C. Pace, Jr.

     

‘Appointments and disappointments’

The helpful calls and e-mails reminding the Magpie Mason to post information and photos of Masonic Week 2010 cannot go ignored forever (even though I haven’t even been home 24 hours yet and still haven’t unpacked the car!) Here is the first of maybe half a dozen posts on last week’s fun and frivolity. More to come this week and maybe next.

Masonic Week 2010

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities

In previous years, this body of water on the hotel grounds was a bubbling fountain, but last week it was a tundra after 30 inches of snow and bitter cold winds knocked the Washington, DC area off its feet.

The Magpie Mason looks forward to Masonic Week the way a kid anticipates the start of summer vacation. It’s a few precious days of catching up with old friends from across the country and around the world, with countless opportunities to make new friends. Along the way, there are meetings, banquets, hospitality suites, private huddles, lobby networking, secret rituals, public embarrassments, cocktails, venal politicians, egos (both inflated and bruised varieties), and a parade of old white guys whose drawls make Strother Martin sound like Alistair Cooke. In short, a lengthy schedule of appointments (with inevitable disappointments) crammed into four days inside a Hilton.

My coverage of last year’s Masonic Week was entirely positive, but the same will not be said of what you’re about to read. The trouble began with snow, a form of frozen precipitation not unknown to the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, yet still capable of shocking just about everyone there into paralysis. Snow doesn’t hit that area either as frequently or as forcefully as it impacts the Northeast or other regions that are only a degree or three latitudinally north of the Mid Atlantic, but its appearance is not exactly one of the Ten Plagues of Exodus either. I mean, they have snowplows, and shovels, and boots, and gloves, and previous experience with snow. So what’s so confusing? The snow falls, you clear it, and you carry on with life as though it is possible to live with some snow on the ground, because it is possible. Okay, okay, in all fairness we’re talking about record snowfalls landing only a few days apart, but why must the recovery take so long?

What I’m cranky about is the cancellation of the two events that most drew me to Alexandria in the first place, plus some other discouraging events that require cautious explanation. The first event was to have been the “The Art of Initiation” at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. I was very fortunate to have been invited to take part in the planning of this event. Actually, that dates to the summer of 2008, when the original idea was to showcase the practices of Traditional Observance lodges for the attendees of Masonic Week 2009. This was to involve brethren from New York who would give lectures, and a lodge in Washington, DC that would exemplify Emulation ritual. So what happened? The Grand Lodge of New York withdrew its recognition of the Grand Lodge of DC just in time to kill the event, an eventuality resembling an act of God for its sudden and improbable freakishness. Fast forward one year, and this time the event is killed by an actual act of God: 30 inches of snow dumped on a city that wets itself when three measly inches are forecast.

Ever have the feeling the Grand Architect is trying to tell you something?

In February 2008 we sat at this table smoking cigars in the mild weather. No chance of that this year.

There is some vague, noncommittal talk of holding “The Art of Initiation” later this year, perhaps autumn, so maybe we’ll just get some locusts. Anyway, I doubt my New York brethren will have time to visit Virginia for a one-night engagement.

The second event called on account of snow was the annual top secret meeting of The Cabal* at Gadsby’s Tavern. We would have met Thursday at 12:30 p.m., more than 24 hours after the snow stopped falling. Despite that respite from the snow, it was not possible to get the tavern open for business, a situation so foreign to me that I still cannot believe it.

And there was more aggravation. The title of this edition of The Magpie Mason conveys cheeky innuendo understood completely only by myself and two other guys, but your imagination will work. And the final blemish on The Week That Was involves a childish anti-Semitic jape spoken proudly in unmistakable clarity in a group conversation in the middle of the hotel lobby. There we stood: myself, two truly distinguished VIPs visiting from Britain, several other fine Masons we all could look up to, and this other person: an effete little fop.

We were enjoying nostalgic discussion of things British, in the context of quality goods that cannot be had today, specifically a certain style of automobile, when Mr. Fop, in a conspicuously lordly voice as he tried to impress the Englishmen with his Grey Pouponness, says “Surely you know the Jew’s Canoe – the Jaguar!” I directed my eyes to the floor. Everyone else ignored him.

Now, first of all, every third-grade bully knows the proper usage is “Jew Canoe.” There is no possessive form, or any apostrophe at all. The little moron couldn’t get that right, so maybe he’s inexperienced at this, but the next time I hear something like that out of him, I’m gonna grab his little turkey neck and give him the lesson in manners his inbred alcoholic parents should have given him 30 years ago. The little priss will read this eventually, and I’m sure he is bright enough to recognize himself. Selah.

The beautiful scenery outside the Alexandria Mark Hilton.

Oh, and did I mention the hotel bar was closed Friday and Saturday nights?

Sorry for the negativity folks, but venting is cathartic. (Perhaps alchemical?) I promise the forthcoming reportage of Masonic Week will resume in The Magpie Mason’s customary cheerful tone and optimistic outlook. The rest of Masonic Week 2010 was just fine. Or, in other words, “It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times,” but next time it snows, I stay home.


*There is no Cabal.

‘The Secret of Kells’

Magpie coverage of Masonic Week 2010 is in the works, and will be posted serially this week.

Courtesy The Blog of Kells.

A little known film from Ireland that hasn’t even been released yet in America has garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, and I’d say every thinking Freemason should at least be aware of it. The Secret of Kells tells of Brendan, age 12, an apprentice of sorts who is initiated into the mysteries of the calligraphic art of illumination. His goal is to complete ‘The Book of Kells,’ that publishing marvel from about the eighth century, also known as the Book of Columba. The Catholic Encyclopedia says:

No words can describe the beauty and the extreme splendor of the richly colored initial letters, which are more profuse in the ‘Book of Kells’ than in any other manuscript. The only thing to which they can be compared is a bed of many colored crocuses and tulips or the very finest stained glass window, which they equal in beauty of coloring and rival in delicacy of ornament and drawing. The artist possessed a wonderful knowledge of the proportion of color and the distribution of his material – sienna, purple, lilac, red, pink, green, yellow, the colors most often used – and he managed the shading and tinting of the letters with consummate taste and skill. It is remarkable that there is no trace of the use of silver or gold on the vellum. Sometimes the colors are laid on in thick layers to give the appearance of enamel, and are here and there as bright and soft and lustrous as when put on fresh more than twelve hundred years ago. Even the best photographic and color reproductions give but a faint idea of the beauty of the original. Especially worthy of notice is the series of illuminated miniatures, including pictorial representations of the Evangelists and their symbols, the Blessed Virgin and the Divine Child, the temptation of Jesus, and Jesus seized by the Jews. These pictures reach their culminating point in what is, in some respects, the most marvelous example of workmanship that the world has ever produced, namely the full page monogram XPI which occurs in the text of the Gospel of St. Matthew. It is no wonder that it was for a long time believed that the ‘Book of Kells’ could have been written only by angels.

Not a bad review.

Regarding content, the Encyclopedia says the book is:

An Irish manuscript containing the Four Gospels, a fragment of Hebrew names, and the Eusebian canons, known also as the ‘Book of Columba,’ probably because it was written in the monastery of Iona to honor the saint. It is likely that it is to this book that the entry in the ‘Annals of Ulster’ under the year 1006 refers, recording that in that year the ‘Gospel of Columba’ was stolen. According to tradition, the book is a relic from the time of Columba (d. 597) and even the work of his hands, but, on paleographic grounds and judging by the character of the ornamentation, this tradition cannot be sustained, and the date of the composition of the book can hardly be placed earlier than the end of the seventh or beginning of the eighth century. This must be the book which the Welshman, Geraldus Cambrensis, saw at Kildare in the last quarter of the 12th century and which he describes in glowing terms. We next hear of it at the cathedral of Kells (Irish Cenannus) in Meath, a foundation of Columba’s, where it remained for a long time, or until the year 1541. In the 17th century Archbishop Ussher presented it to Trinity College, Dublin, where it is the most precious manuscript in the college library and by far the choicest relic of Irish art that has been preserved. In it is to be found every variety of design typical of Irish art at its best.

I have not seen this film, nor can I find solid information on any general or even limited release, which is amazing given the Oscar nomination. I really do look forward to seeing this though, because even a quick glance at the website reveals all kinds of esoteric and spiritual imagery and themes. The plot echoes countless hero myths. Its climax drips Manichean thinking. Visit the Image Gallery and behold the numerous depictions of familiar ritualistic elements, all beautifully stylized. There appears to be: sacred geometry (Fibonacci), a circle of union, a wizardly mentor/guide, a challenge to overcome fear and undertake a rough and rugged journey, and even a Jonah-like trial of being swallowed by a beast.

Of the film’s conclusion, the website suspensefully asks “Will Brendan succeed in his quest to illuminate the darkness and prove that enlightenment is the best fortification against barbarians?” Can you say “Rose Croix ritual?”

Disney trailer courtesy of Cartoon Saloon on Vimeo.

The name Brendan is the anglicized form of the Irish name Bréanainn, which in turn derives from the Welsh for “prince.” Saint Brendan, also known as “Brendan the Voyager,” was a sixth century Irish abbot who, legend says, crossed the Atlantic and reached North America with 17 other monks.

‘A King in New York’

     
Thirty-two years ago, the Magpie Mason was the Magpie Elementary School Student, and I was lucky to have gone on a class trip to New York City to view treasures discovered in 1922 inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun. The exhibit left a big impression in my mind, and for many years I re-read the catalogue sold by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, trying to discern what message, if any, from a 3,300-year-old pharaoh might be of value today. I still do not know the answer to that, but Freemasonry has taught me, if nothing else, to observe symbols. So the iconic image of this pharaoh’s coffin, with enigmatic crook and flail, gained a new meaning for me as a Freemason.

Left: The Canopic Coffin of Tutankhamun was one of four miniature coffins that contained the young pharaoh’s internal organs – his heart and vitals, if you will. Tutankhamun, who died at age 18, ruled during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. Right: The 18° of the AASR is signified by a posture noticeably similar to the coffin’s design. (Watercolor of Knight Rose Croix courtesy of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction.)

Last July, it was W. Bro. Tim Hogan of Enlightenment Lodge No. 198 in Colorado who showed me the connection. In a thread in the discussion forum of The Masonic Society, he explained how a sign used in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite very closely resembles the placement of hands shown in depictions of pharaohs, like the bejeweled, golden likenesses of King Tutankhamun.

The crook and flail are explained by Dr. I.E.S. Edwards (1909-96), former keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum, who authored the catalogue Treasures of Tutankhamun (1976) that documented the Tutankhamun artifacts, the historic tour of which was organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He writes:

“Although the crook and the flail were most often represented as emblems of the god Osiris, they were also carried on some ceremonial occasions, besides the coronation, by the reigning pharaoh. Very occasionally the crook was held by viceroys of Nubia and also by viziers. A painted scene of tribute from Asia in the tomb of Tutankhamun’s viceroy of Nubia, Huy, shows the king holding both the crook and flail in his left hand and the sign for ‘life’ (ankh) in his right, while the viceroy holds a crook, but no flail, in his left hand and a single ostrich plume in his right. Only rarely is the flail shown in the hands of priests or officials and such instances are limited to scenes of royal jubilee festivals. Notwithstanding these sporadic exceptions, the crook and the flail were essentially Osirian emblems, though possibly not so in origin. Osiris is believed to have acquired them from Andjeti, the local god of a town in the Delta named Djedu, who was represented in human form with two feathers on his head and holding the crook and flail in his hands. At a very early date in Egyptian history Osiris absorbed Andjeti and adopted his insignia. Osiris, however, was regarded not only as a god, but also as a deified deceased king and consequently his insignia, particularly the crook and flail, were treated as symbols of royalty.

It is not difficult to imagine how a shepherd’s crook could have acquired the symbolical significance of rulership. Its name in Egyptian is heqat and the most common word for ‘ruler’ is heqa. Not unnaturally it has been compared with the crosier, the Christian pastoral staff. A flail (called nekhakha), however, seems out of character for a kindly and beneficent god like Osiris, and for this reason some authorities prefer to regard it as a ladanisterion, a flail-like instrument used until the present day by shepherds in the Mediterranean region and elsewhere for collecting ladanum, a gummy substance excreted from the leaves of the cistus plant. According to classical writers, it was used in the preparation of incense and unguents. This suggestion, proposed by the late Professor P.E. Newberry who helped in the clearance of Tutankhamun’s tomb, is plausible, but, as yet, there is no clear evidence that the cistus plant grew in Egypt in pharaonic times.”

For its part, the ritual motion affected during the 18° also has significance from symbolic shepherding in antiquity. It is defined in Isaiah: “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.” (40:11, King James Version).

Anyway, I point this out now because Tutankhamun’s treasures will return to New York in April for a 36-week exhibition at Discovery Times Square Exposition. I plan to visit, and I recommend it to you too. In fact, discounts on tickets are available to groups, so organize your Chapter of Rose Croix and get over there. Tickets go on sale next month. The exhibit will close January 2, 2011.

Hanging in the Hall of Scottish Rite Regalia inside the House of the Temple in Washington are 36 oil paintings by Robert H. White, 32°. Shown here is 18th Degree: Knight of Rose Croix which depicts the apron, collar, and jewel of the degree. Read about its symbology here.