Manyoftheseloansdatedbacktotheearlyyearsof
themuseum,beforeitsowncollectioncouldsupport
exhibitionsandresearchprojects.
Thetimeseemedrighttoassesseachloanforits
relevancetothemuseum’smissionandcorepriorities.
Inmanycases,theobjectsonloanweredetermined
tobeone-of-a-kind,offeringfascinatingpossibilities
forresearch,exhibits,andpublicprogramming.
So,museumstaffbegantoasktheirownersifthey
mightconsiderturningtheseloansintogiftsforthe
permanentcollection.Oneofthefirstgenerous
lenderstoacceptthisproposalwasOccidentalLodge
inStockbridge,MA.
Backin1977,shortlyafterthemuseumopened,
OccidentalLodgeplacedamaulonloantothemu-
seum.
Themaulhasanappliedmetalbandthathelpsto
tellthestoryofitssignificance,“AncientEgyptian
MaulPresentedtoOccidentalLodgebyR.W.
BrigadierGeneralC.S.WilsonCB,CMG,DSO,
DistrictGrandMasterofEgyptandSudan.”
OccidentalLodgewasformedinStockbridge,
MA,inJune1870whentheGrandLodgeofMassa-
chusettsgrantedthepetitionof23Masonsfromthat
town.
Thesemenestablishedthepurposeofthelodge,
“topromoteanddiffusethegenuineprinciplesof
Freemasonry;fortheconvenienceofourrespective
dwelling,andothergoodreasons.”
Thelodgegrewsteadilyduringthelate1800sand
early1900s,initiatingmembers,pursuingcharitable
activitiesandmeetingregularly.
Duringtheseyears,OccidentalLodgereceiveda
numberofgiftswhichtheypreservedastreasures.
Inadditiontotheirofficerjewels,asetofreceiving
toolsandseveralceremonialgavels,thelodgereceived
themaulinJuly1928.
Thepreviousfall,atanOctober5,1927Special
Communication,thelodgewasvisitedbythepresid-
ingDistrictDeputy,alongwithBrigadierGeneral
CharlesS.Wilson,then-DistrictGrandMasterof
EgyptandSudanfortheGrandLodgeofEngland.
Unfortunately,lodgerecordsdonotrevealtheoc-
casionforWilson’svisittowesternMassachusetts,or
whatpromptedhimtomakethisgift.Insteadthegift
ofthemaulisrecordedas“atokenofhisesteem.”
WilsonwasthefifthDistrictGrandMasterafter
theDistrictGrandLodgeofEgyptandSudan
formedin1899.
Wilsonsucceededhispredecessorin1926after
thatmanwasassassinatedonaCairoStreet,serving
asDistrictGrandMasteruntilhisdeathatseain
1933.
AccordingtoWilson,thissettingmaulwasfound
inthefuneraltempleofPharoahDjoser(alsoknown
asZoser),whosereignextendedfromabout2630
B.C.to2610B.C.
ThefuneraltempleispartoftheStepPyramidat
Saqqara,Egypt.BuiltunderthedirectionofPharoah
Djoserduringhisreign,bythearchitectImhotep,the
pyramidwasthelargestbuildingofitstimestanding
204feethighwithsixsteppedlayers.
ThestructurewasintendedtoholdthePharoah’s
mummifiedbodyafterhisdeath.Themuseumis
pleasedtoaddthemaultoitscollection—itbe-
comestheoldestiteminthatcollection.
SPRINGCLEANING
—
AuroraLodgeApron
ReceivesConservation
LikeAnnawonLodgeNo.115,ofConnecticut,the
membersofAuroraLodgeNo.50,inRockland,ME,
becameconcernedaboutoneoftheirtreasuresand
turnedtotheNationalHeritageMuseumforhelp.
Duringthefallof2007,oneofthelodgemembers
noticedtheaproninitsframe,restingonthetopofa
metalfilingcabinetinthelodgebuilding.
Thepaperbackingwasbrittleandcrackingandthe
apronitselfwasripplinginside.Bro.JamesDayboch
didsomeresearchanddiscoveredthattheapron
datedtotheearly1800s,perhapseventotheyearof
AuroraLodge’scharter—1826.
Workingwiththelodgeandthemuseum’scurator-
ialstaff,Bro.Daybochspearheadedanagreementto
bringtheaprontoLexingtonsothatitcouldreceive
propercleaning,aswellassecurestorage,tohelp
6
May2008/
TheNorthernLight
Ancient
EgyptianMaul,
donatedtothe
NationalHeritage
Museum,by
OccidentalLodge
ofStockbridge,
MA.