Page 131 - An account of the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. 1777 to 2012UGLE

Lodge of the Nine Muses 131

[22 October 1819] Brother Sir W . Rawlins reported that H.R.H. the D. of
m
Sufsex MWGM has found the Master’s Jewel belonging to this Lodge (which had
been lent to HRH several years ago & mislaid) and that HRH was desirous of
returning the same to the Lodge. Ordered that the R.W.M. be requested to wait
on HRH to receive the said Jewel on behalf of the Lodge.
It was not till 1823, however, that the jewel was actually recovered. Under 14
January in that year we read “The W.M. [Bro. Propert] informed the Lodge that
he had reced from HRH. the Duke of Sufsex the Masters Jewel which had been
lent to his HRH and mislaid by him and the W.M. now restored it to the Lodge.”
Meantime another substitute had been provided. It is minuted under
22 November 1816 that
Brother George Michael Brighty the Junior Warden presented to the Lodge an
enamelled painting in miniature of the figure of Apollo to be worn by the master
of this lodge for the time being and this munificent present was respectfully
accepted by the lodge and ordered that the present and their acceptance of it
should be inscribed on the minutes with the cordial thanks of the lodge to
Brother the Jun . Warden for his handsome present .... Order that an inscription
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be engraved at the back of Bro . Brighty’s present in these words Presented to the
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lodge of the Nine Muses by Brother George Michael Brighty J.W. as a testimony
of regard 22nd November 1816.

This jewel, so inscribed, is still in the possession of the Lodge, and is worn by the
I.P.M. It represents a nude figure of Apollo, crowned with laurel and facing towards
the right; a lyre, held by the right hand, rests on a pedestal, while from the left hand
hangs a square. On the pedestal are a square and compasses. The painting differs
completely in style from Cipriani’s; the figure is graceful and skilfully managed, but
the handling is looser and less elaborated. The frame is of silver, set with crystals.
See plate 9a.
It has been hitherto assumed that this was the jewel supplied by Bro. Thomas
Harper, but it seems strange that Bro. Brighty should have presented to the Lodge
in November 1816 a jewel for which Bro. Harper had been paid nearly eighteen
months before; moreover, Bro. Brighty was actually a miniature painter by profession