The Society of Bucks - Buck's Jewel.
circa 1770.
A silver filigree hand painted porcelain & seed pearls star pendant jewel
. The pendant having a star-shaped body with each arm decorated with
foliate inspired pierced motifs. Central circular glazed front jewel face
depicting the Society of Bucks' coat of arms. The coat of arms showing its
attributes and mottoes: ' Industry Produceth Wealth, Innocence with Freedom, We
Obey, Unanimity is the Strength of Society, and Be Marry and Wise '. A central
crest with buck facing left, enclosed within a pearl & gold wired frame.
The jewel kept in original velvet lined & leather shell shaped case.
The Society of Bucks was long thought to be a short-lived
secret society, based exclusively in Liverpool, dating from the 1750s until the
1770s. The discovery of a book printed in 1770 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford,
and a paper, published in 1890, entitled 'A forgotten rival of Masonry: the
noble order of Bucks’, as well as several mentions in newspapers, revealed that
it was founded as early as 1723. By 1752-1753, the Society had about 19 lodges
across the country, as well as one in Bombay. It seems to have declined in the
1770s but some lodges were still extant in the 1820s.
Case measures approx. 13.5cm x 12.5cm. Jewel loop to base
measures approx. 9.7cm. Roundel measures approx. 3.5cm in diameter.
Engraved by Copland.
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