French Napoleonic Rose-Croix Jewel

A French Napoleonic era Freemason ‘bijou de Chevalier Rose-Croix’ (Knight of the Rose Cross jewel), in the form of a latin cross with a crown finial, the center with a mother-of-pearl églomisé medallion of a pelican in its piety (front) and a rose-centered cross with the inscription INRI (back), the gilt silver frame pavé-set with black-dot pastes in foiled cut-down collets. The jewel bears a Roman fasces punch, a French silver guaranty mark in use 1798-1809. These Rose-Croix jewels have been much admired in France for their “beauté singulière” (singular beauty), to borrow the words of Pierre Mollier, director of the Library-Archives Museum of the Grand Orient de France. 150 such jewels, amassed over 20 years by the collector-politician Daniel Guéguen, is the subject of a book: “Les Bijoux Rose-Croix 1760-1890” by Robert Vanloo and Philippe Klein. Within the Guéguen collection, about 13 examples are similar in design and form to the present jewel (see pages 30, 36, 62, 80, 100, 104, 106, 108, 132, 134, 136, 142, 146). Since c. 1760, these jewels functioned as rank badges for high masonic degrees, of which the Chevalier Rose-Croix formed the 18th degree in the “Scottish Rites“ (Écossisme) branch of French Freemasonry. The pelican, a common symbol on Rose-Croix jewels, represents Christ Redeemer, as pelican mothers would pierce its breast to feed her young with her own blood in times of privation.

The intellectual origins of the Rose-Croix can be traced to an early 17th c German reform movement which scholars now call the Rosicrucian Enlightenment. Born in response to 17th century wars of religion, a secret network of intellectuals published manifestos calling for reforms to mitigate the alienation between science and Christanity. This secret order became known as the ‘Rosencreutzer’ (Rosicrucians), so named after the 14th c. mystic Christian Rosenkreutz (or, as he is known in France, Christian Rose-Croix). The movement became associated with Freemasonry as early as 1638, became an established masonic order in 1710, and by 1760 formed the highest grade of the ‘Scottish Rite’ adopted by France Freemasons. While lodges maintained independence from the church and state during the Revolutionary era, Napoleon sought to firmly control masonic activity upon seizing power in 1799. Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon’s own brother, was appointed Grand Master of France’s oldest lodge, the Grand Orient. Backed by state sanction, Freemasonry flourished during the Napoleonic era, such that each regiment, garrison, and city had its own lodge; at its height during the 19th century, French Freemasons counted over 60,000 members and over a thousand lodges spread across 130 departments. In Paris, Masonic jewels were made by jewelers in the fashionable Marais district, between rue du Temple and rue Charlot. According to a jeweler’s inventory from 1817, a copper jewel cost between 8-15 francs, while those in silver and set with pastes ranged from 15-60 francs depending on quality. An average worker at that time earned only 3 francs a day.
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