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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNI\^RSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
CATALOGUE OF FINGER RINGS
OXFORD
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNI^'ERSITY
FRANKS BEQUEST
CATALOCxUE
OF THE
FINGER RINGS
EARLY CHRISTIAN, BYZANTINE, TEUTONIC, MEDIAEVAL AND LATER
BEQUEATHED BY SIR AUGUSTUS WOLLASTON FRANKS, K.C.B.
IN WHICH ARE INCLUDED THE OTHER RINGS OF THE SAME PERIODS IN THE MUSEUM
KY
O. M. DALTON, M.A.
ASSISTANT KEEI'ER OK 'IHE DEPARTMENT OF BRITISH AND MEDIAEVAL ANTIQUITIES AND ETHNOGRAPHY
LONDON
PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES
SOLD A T THE BRITISH MUSEUM
AND BY LONGMANS & CO., 39 PATERNOSTER ROW BERNARD QUARITCH, 11 GRAFTON STREET, NEW BOND STREET, W.
ASHER & CO., 14 ISKDFORI) STREET, COVENT GARDEN AND HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, AMEN CORNER
1913
\AIl rights >i'served\
I
Library--
The present volume is iiiteiuled to supijlemeiU the Catalogue of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman fm^er-rins^s to which allusion is made at the beginning of the Introduction. It inchidrs all the rings of post-classical times in the Museum. The system upon which the Catalogue has been drawn up, and the difficulty of handling many of the points that arise with tinalit\-, or even on logical lines, have been pointed out on a subsequent page.
The major part of the collection dealt with in this \oIume, like a considerable part of that in the Catalogue already published, was comprised in the valuable bequest of Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, K.C.B., my predecessor in the charge of this department. During his ofificial career of forty-five years he hatl unceasingly added to the riches of the Museum, particularly in his own department; and at his death, in 1897, he left to the Trustees practically anything they chose to select from the various series he had retainetl for his lite. Chief among these was the collection of finger-rings, the; accumulation of many years, and of many hands. As will lie seen from the pages of the Catalogue itself, this Collection .so far surpas.sed that alread\- in the Museum both in numbers and in importance, that it .seems a fitting tribute to pay to the ' Franks Recjuest ' to give th(; rings thus acquired the leading place upon the title-page.
uBsers
vi PREFACE
For help in several directions in the preparation of the volume, thanks are due to Mr. Stanley Adam ; to Sir Harry Poland, K.C., whose knowledge in connexion with the rings of serjeants-at-law has been freely placed at our disposal ; to Mr. Longworth Dames for the elucidation of many oriental inscriptions ; and to the Society of Anti- quaries of London for the loan of several illustrations which have been used in their publications.
I have read through the proofs of the Catalogue, and in many cases compared the descriptions with the specimens themselves.
C. H. READ.
Department of British and Medi.\eval Antiquities and Ethnography. March, 1912.
Note. — The measurements and weights of the specimens are given in English denominations, but parallel tables are provided by means of which the necessary reductions can be made.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE V
LIST OF PLATES x
LIST OF WORKS USEFUL FOR THE STUDY OF RINGS . . . xi
INTRODUCTION xiii
CATALOGUE
A. EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE RINGS.
I. Chiefly from Italy and befoke a. d. 600 :
a. Inscribed ........•• '
I). Uninscribed ...,.....■ 4
II. From the Christlvn East ;
a. Inscribed :
r. Iconographic ......... 7
2. Marriage and Betrothal .....-• 8
3. Acclamations and Prayers . . . ■ ■ • 10
4. Names and Monograms . . . • • • '4
b. Uninscribed :
1. Iconographic .....■••■ '^
2. Marriage and Betrothal • . . • • ■ 21
3. Miscellaneous .....■••• ^i
B EARLY TEUTONIC RINGS.
I. Continental :
a. Inscribed ... ..••■• 23
b. With Human and Animal Figures 26
c. Ornamental ......■• • ■ 27
II. Anglo-Saxon and Viking :
i. Anglo-Saxon:
<;. Inscribed ... ....••• 29
/'. Ornamental . ...-••• 3*
ii. Vikinsr .....■•■••• 35
VllI TABLE OF CONTENTS
C. SIGNET-RINGS.
I. Fkom a. d. iooo To 140°: page
a. Set with Antique Gems ........ 37
6. Engraved with Arms and Devices . . . . . . 41
II. Froji A.J). 1450 TO 1650:
<i. Set with Gems ......... 50
/'. Set with Crystal ; Engraved Arms and Devices coloured beneath . 53
c. Engraved w'ith Arms and Devices ...... 56
III. After A. D. 1^)50:
<;. Set with Gems or Pastes . . . . . . . . 98
/'. Engraved with Arms and Devices . . . . . .101
D. RELIGIOUS AND ECCLESIASTICAL.
I. Devotional Rings:
(I. 13th to 1 6th Centuries . . . . . . . .103
/'. I fith Century and later . . . . . . . .119
Decade-rings . . . . . . . . .122
Memento Mori Rings .125
II. Ecclesiastical Rings :
(I. Papal . . . . . . . . . ...129
/'. Episcopal . ' . . . . . . .134
E. AMULET RINGS 135
F. INSCRIBED RINGS 146
G. LOVE AND MARRIAGE RINGS.
I. IXSCRIBEU ............ 153
II. Fede-rixgs:
(/. Inscribed . . . . . . . . . . .161
//. Uninscribed ....... ... 165
III. Uninscribed I.ove-rinus ... ... ... 171
IV. Posv-RiNcs ........... 175
V. Jewish Marriage-rings . . . . • . . .189
H. MEMORIAL AND OFFICIAL RINGS.
1. CoALMEMOKAJINE OE PERSONS AND EvENTS :
,/. With Portraits of Historical or Known Persons . . . .195
//. Witli Portraits of Unidentified Persons 202
■f. Rings commemorating Events ....... 204
TABLK OF CONTENTS ix
H. MEMORIAL AND OFFICIAL RINGS {. .mtinual).
II. .Mi)Ui<M\G-KiN(;s : I'A(;e
a. In Memory of Historical IVrsons ...... 208
li. In IMcnioiy of other Persons . . . . . . .211
c. Rings with Skeletons, &c., round Hoops . . .221
d. Foreign Mourning-rings ........ 238
III OiFici.iL Rings :
1^ Rings of Serjeants-al-law .... ... 2 ^9
/'. Rings of Investiture (.'') .... .... 241
J. FANCY RINGS 242
K. ORNAMENTAL RINGS.
I. From ABOUT A. D. 1000 to about .\. n. 1450 ..... 249
II. FrO.M a. D. 1450 TO A. 1). 1650 ........ 26^
L. PEASANT RINGS.
a. Italian ........... 1,04
b. From the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe .... ■'09
c. Scandinavian . . . . . . . . .311
M. ORIENTAL RINGS.
I. Western Asia, North Africa, and India :
a. Inscribed . . . . . . . .314
//. Uninscribed .......... 324
II. Farther India, Java, China :
a. Burmah, Siani, and Java ........ 336
b. China ........... 340
III. MiSCELLANF.OUS ORIENTAL RiNGS ....... 343
IV. West African Ri.vgs ......... 345
ADDENDA 348
TABLE FOR CONVERTING ENGLISH INCHES INTO MILLIMETRES 351
TABLE OF RELATIVE WEIGHTS 352
INDEXES.
I. General Inde.x ........... 355
TI. Inde.\ OF Inscriptions ....... . . 361
III. Inde.x of Localities ........ . . 364
LIST OF PLATES
I. Early Tevtoxic Rings.
11. Anglo-Saxon Rings.
HI. Signet-kings : IMediaeval.
IV. Signet-rings : IMediaeval.
V, Signet-rings: i6th Century.
VI. Signet-rings: i6th Century.
VII. Signet-rings: i5th-i6th Century.
VIII. Signet-rings: i6th-i7th Century.
IX. Signet-rings: 16TH-17TH Century.
X. Signet-rings: i6th Century and Later.
XI. Devotional and Inscribed Rings : Mediaeval and Later.
XII. Papal Rings.
XIII. P.^PAL Rings.
XIV. Papal Rings.
XV. Amulet-rings: Mediaeval and Later.
XVI. Love-rings : IMediaeval and L.\ter.
XVII. Love-rings of Various Dates.
XVIII. Jewish ISIarriage-rings.
XIX. Stuart ]Memorial-rixgs.
XX. Portrait-rings.
XXI. Memento Mori and Mourning Rings: 17TH and i8th Centuries.
XXII. Mourning-rings : i8th and Early iqth Century.
XXIII. Fancy Rings: Serjeants' Rings.
XXIV. IMediaeval Gem-rings. XXV. Mediaeval Gem-rings.
XXVI. Renaissance Ornamental Rings.
XXVII. Ornamental Rings: i6th and i7th Centuries.
XXVIII. Ornamental Rings: i6th. 17TH, and iSth Centuries.
XXIX. Oriental Rings.
XXX. Oriental Rings.
LIST OF WORKS USEFUL FOR THE STUDY OF RINCxS
Archaeoloc;ia (Miscelianous tracts relating to antiquity, published by the Society of Anti- quaries of London), Index to vols, i-1, s. v. Rings, and indices to subsequent volumes. Akchaeolooical Journal (Journalof the Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain
and Ireland), Index to vols, i-xxv, s. v. Rings, and indices to subsequent volumes. Babixgton, C. See Smith and Cheetham.
British Quarterly Review, Ix 1 187.]), pp. 195 ft".: article 'Finger-rings'. Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Leipsic, 1892, &c., Generalregister, vols, i-xii, s. v. Ringe. Cabrol, F. Dictionnaire d'archeologie chretienne et de liturgie. Article Aiincaux by
H. Leclercq. Catalogue des objets antiques du moyen age, de la Renaissance etc., dependant de la
succession de M. le Baron Jerome Pichon. Paris, Hotel Drouot, May 1897, pp. 1-24
and plates. Catalogue of .Antiquities, found principally in East Anglia, in the Norwich Castle Museum,
edited by Walter Rye. Norwich, 1909, pp. I04 ff. Catalogue of the Antiquities and Works of .Art exhibited at Ironmongers' Hall. London, in
the month of May, 1861, vol. ii, pp. 475 ft'. London, 1S69. C.\T.\logue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the .Mediaeval, Renaissance, and more
recent Periods on loan at the South Kensington Museum, June, 1862, pp.618 flf. Cat.\logue of the Loan Exhibition of. Ancient and Modern Jewellery at South Kensington,
1872. Ed. R. H. Soden Smith, 1873. Church, A. H. Precious Stones considered in their Scientific and Artistic Relations. London,
1905 (Board of Education, South Kensington, Victoria and Albert Museum). Croker, T. C. Catalogue of a Collection of Ancient and Mediaeval Rings . . . formed for Lady
Londesborough. London, 1853. D.\lton, O. -M. Catalogue of Early Christian Antiquities ... in the Department of British and
Mediaeval Antiquities in the British Museum. London, 1901. Deloche, M. M. ' Le port des anneaux dans I'antiquite romaine et les premiers sitcles du
moyen age' in Meinoires dc I'Acadnnie des Inscriptions ct Belles-I.ctties, xxxv ('1S96),
Part 2, pp. 169 fif. Etude historique et archeologique sur les anneaux sigillaires et autres des premiers sitcles
du moyen age. Paris, 1900. Edwards, C. The History and Poetry of Finger-rings. New York, 1S55. Fonten.W, E. Les Bijoux anciens et modernes. Paris, 1887. Fortnu.M, C. D. E. -On some Finger-rings of the Early Christian Period,' in Archaeological
Journal ((\.\.), xxvi (1S69), p. 141; xxviii (1871), p. 275. JO.NES, W. Finger-ring Lore. London, 1877.
xii LIST OF WORKS USEFUL FOR THE STUDY OF RINGS
Journal of the British Archaeological Association-, London. Index to vols. i-.\.\x, s. v.
Ring, and indices to subsequent volumes. King. C. W. Antique Gems and Rings. London, 1S72.
Handbook of Engraved Gems. London, 1866.
KiRCHMAXN. J. De annulis liber singularis. 1623. Republished in 1657 at Schleswig, and
in 1672 at Leyden. KoRNM.\NN. H. De annulo tripllci. 1654. Reprinted in the 1672 edition of Kirchniann. Kraus, F. X. Real-Encyklopadie der christlichen .Alterthiimer. 1SS0-1886. Article j'v///?". LECLEkcg. H. Sec Cabrol, F. LONGUS, G. De anulis signatoriis antiquorum. 1615. Reprinted in the 1672 edition of
Kirchmann. M.\RSUALL, F. H. Catalogue of the Finger-rings, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman, in the
Departments of Antiquities, British Museum, London, 1907. M.\RTIGNY, J. ' Des anneaux chez les premiers Chretiens," &c.. in Aiinales de P Academic de
Macon, 1857.
Dictionnaire des antiquites chretiennes. 1865, s.v. Anneaux.
Morgan, OcTAViis. 'On Episcopal and other Rings of Investiture,' in Archaeoloi^ia (q.v.),
xxxvi (1855), pp. 392 ff. Notes and Queries, London. General Index, s.v. Rings. Proceedinc;s of the Society of Antiquaries of London, passim. See General Index, 191 1,
s. V. Rings. Sau.S-SAV, A. DU. Panoplia episcopalis seu de sacro episcoporum ornatu libri \'II. 1646:
Lib. Ill: De annulo episcopali, pp. 175 flf. Smith, W, AND Cheetham, S. A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities. London, 1S93. .\rticle
Rings, by C. Babington. SODEN Smith, R. H. See Catalogue of the Loan E.xhibition, &c. Waterton, E. MS. entitled Dactyliothcca Waiertoniana in the Library- of the \'ictoria and
Albert Museum, South Kensington. 'On the annulus piscatoris or Ring of the Fisherman,' in Arcfiaeologia (q.v.), xl
(1866), p. 1 38.
INTRODUCTION
The present publication is ofificially the complement of the Catalogue of General. 1907 written by Mr. F. H. Marshall of the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities.' That volume describes the rings of the Greeks, the Etruscans^ and the Romans, and to it the student of the subject as a whole is referred for the earlier developments of this small but very important article of jewellery. In the following pages the history of the ring is taken up at the beginning of our era, with the rings of Roman date bearing signs of Christian ownership, and is continued through the Middle Ages down to our own time. It is apparent that the task of co-ordinating the rings of so extended a period must be one of singular complexity.^
The collection of finger-rings formed bj' Sir Wollaston Franks represents the gatherings of many years, and the efforts of many individuals. In addition to his usual sources of supply, yearly accessions resulted from the winter journeys to Italy, Egypt, and the East, of the Rev. Greville Chester, who up to the time of his death assiduously collected rings and other works of art on his friend's behalf. Sometimes whole series were acquired at once ; in this way were incorporated the splendid collection made by Lord Braybrooke at Audley End, that of Mr. R. H. Soden Smith of the South Kensington Museum, and finally the cabinet of another friend, Mr. Octavius Morgan. If all these specimens had been retained, the rings here to be described would have been exceedingly numerous ; but great numbers of duplicates were withdrawn, and only those which definitely enriched the Collection were kept. The Braybrooke Collection alone was absorbed intact, because the general quality of the examples composing it was very high ; because it contained many rings of types not otherwise represented ; and because Lord Brajbrooke had privately printed a catalogue, illustrating it with the admirable wood engravings in fashion about the middle of the last century. These illustrations have been utilized for the first time in the present volume, for, like most catalogues of living collections, Lord Braybrooke"s
' Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman, in the Departments oj Antiquities, British Museum, by F. H. Marshall, 'Sl.h., 1907.
" The Catalogue does not include all the finger-rings in the Museum belonging to the period specified. With the exception of the West .■\frican gold rings, which S;r Wollaston Franks specially collected, ethnographical types have been omitted.
b
XIV INTRODUCTION
was not completed and was never actually published. Another acquisition of importance, which may be specially mentioned, is tlie series of Javanese rings acquired from Lord Ashburnham ; these are largely of mediaeval date, and but rarel}- occur out of Java and Holland. It will be seen that throughout the name of the former collector is indicated wherever possible ; Mr. Greville Chester not having formed a collection of his own. his name is not associated with the rings he obtained ; but it may be assumed that the majority of those from Italy, Egj'pt, and the Holy Land were secured through him. Several hundred rings were acquired bj' the Museum at various times independently of Sir Wollaston Franks's bequest ; these are almost all included, and may be distinguished from the rest by the means indicated in the Xote immediately preceding the Catalogue. The present Collection is perhaps the most repre- sentative in existence ; but those in the Victoria and Albert and Ashmoiean Museums are of primary importance, while that in Xonvich Castle ' is of much interest for the history of English rings. In these cases, as in that of the British Museum, the chief wealth has been derived from one source; at South Kensington from the cabinet of Mr. Edmund Waterton ; at Oxford from that of Mr. C. Drurj' Fortnum ; at Norwich from that of Mr. Fitch. Museums, by a natural sequence of events, have taken the place of the old collectors, whose line runs back at least as far as the Renaissance, and includes Pope Paul II,- who was said to have been strangled by the demons imprisoned in the gems of his rings.*
Rings in the Collection directly associated with historical persons are not verj^ numerous. That which will arouse the most general interest is the signet of Marj'Oueenof Scots (no. 316) ; but two of the Anglo-Saxon rings (nos. 179, i8c) are of the highest importance as bearing the names of Ethelwulf and Ethelswith, the first the father, the second the sister of Alfred the Great. Most of the other rings bearing historical names or portraits have not the same intimate and personal associations; thej- are chiefly memorial rings, and never belonged to the person commemorated. Such is the group of Stuart rings, many with enamelled portraits of Charles I, Charles II, James II, and Charles Edward and James Edward Stuart : such the ring commemorating the execution of the Jacobite lords on Tower Hill (no. 1417); such the portrait-rings of U'illiam III and Mary. William IV, John Wilkes, Mme de Maintenon, and others : such, again, the mourning-rings made in memor)- of various members of the Royal Family, of Lord Xelson, and Spencer Perceval. Historical and literary references to rings witli associations of this kind provide an interesting subject. alread\- treated by the writers of general works : the connexion of rings with personages familiar to us in history and legend is not the least attraction in their study. The more prominent episodes and events in which rings have plajed a part are matters of common knowledge. All have
' F. Leney, Catalogue of Antiquities in the Norwich Castle Museum, IS09i PP- I04 ff-
- E. Miintz, Les Arts a la Cour des Papes, ii, pp. 188-9.
' Ibid. p. 151. Cf. aiso C. \V. King, Antique Cents and Rings, i, p. 393.
IN'TRODUCTION XV
heard of Edward the Confessor's ring.' criven to a beggar, tal<cn to Rome, and retmned just before the King's death, to be removed from his coffin in A.n. 1 163 and kept at Westminster for the cure of epilepsy (Fig. i and sir p. xh'v). The ring given by Queen Eh'zabcth to the Earl of l-Issex is even better known, and is said to be still in existence.- More famous yet are the rings with which the Doges of Venice espoused the sca.^
Fig. I. Edward the Confessor givinc his Ring to the Beggar. Subject of ;x thirteenth-cenlury tile in the Chapter House at Westminster.
But few of the greater cr the lesser rings of history have been preserved ; the survival of the Essex ring is a fortunate exception. Where is the ring reputed to be the work of St. Dunstan's hands, and twice recorded in inventories of the English royal house ?^ Where are the signets set w'th heliotrope, and engraved
' Polydore Vergil, Hist. AngL. Bk. viii ; J. Kirchmann, Dc annulis, p. 212 ; E. A. Freeman, Hist, of the Norman Conquest, ii, p. 519 ; iii, p. 34; H. R. Luard, Lives oj Edward the Confessor, 185S, pp. 276, 373. An interesting miniature representing the subject may be seen in a thirteenth-century MS. in the British Museum (Add. 21,926, f. 12).
" Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, 1st series, i, p. 179. It contains a cameo portrait of Elizabeth. (Cf. no. 1358.)
^ Revue archt'ologique, 1905, pp. I ff., where the custom is brought into relation with the ancient legends connected with Minos, Polycrates, and Aristides.
* Liber quotidianus contrarotiilatorius . . . anno 2S Edtcardi I, pubhshcd by the Society
b 2
XVI INTRODUCTION
with Our Lord crucified upon an anchor, which John Donne shortly before his death presented to his friends as tokens?^ All have disappeared, and of those which have escaped, some of the most precious have experienced strange destinies: the ring of Alhstan, the Anglo-Saxon Bisiiop of Sherborne, now treasured at South Kensington, was worn upon a necktie by one of its previous owners.^ The ring of Queen Ethelswith was tied to a dog's collar by the farmer who found it, and remained there for six months before it was discovered to be of gold. The ring of her father Ethelwulf lay in a cart-rut on a country road. Classi- It may be doubted whether it is possible to classify in a really logical w^ay
fication. the finger-rings made and used over so wide a range of centuries as that with which the present volume is concerned. Many obvious difficulties at once occur to the mind, but perhaps the most troublesome arises from the union in a single ring of several characteristic features, each alone sufficient to form a basis of division. A fifteenth-century ring with a devotional subject may be inscribed with such a motto as /out inon ccciir avcz ; is it to be classed as devotional, or as a love-ring ? Another ring has on the bezel : Dais protector incus ; is the legend there for a pious reason, or because the words are a family or personal motto of the wearer ? A signet has at the back of the hoop the clasped hands of a fcdc- ring ; to which group should it be assigned ? Small problems of this kind present themselves at every turn, to be followed perhaps by others of a more general nature, such as the difficulty of deciding where to draw the line between the mediaeval ring which is really religious, and that which is only amuletic ; or how to reconcile the competing claims of an ornamental type and a sentimental affinity. Chronology and typology may conflict ; here and there an example may be so indeterminate in style that even a wide experience may fail to suggest a date or a locality. For these and similar reasons several sections of the present Catalogue contain rings which might with equal reason be placed in other classes; but by cross-references and a full Index the attempt has been made to remedy an unavoidable evil. An)' conceivable classification must suffer from the difficulties inherent in such a subject, and it is perhaps superfluous to discuss them. But that here adopted may incur a definite charge of inconsistency in that two different principles have been adopted in different parts of the Catalogue. The Early Christian, Early Teutonic, Byzantine, and Oriental examples are classified according to countries and peoples, all the rest according to the purposes for which the ring was made. It is believed that this arrange- ment will commend itself as the most practical, and that the logical offence of a cross-division will be redeemed by general convenience in reference- For, to
of Antiquaries, 17S7, p. 351 : Unus anulus auri cum saphiro qui fuit dcfabrica Sancti Dunstani, ut credebatur; Rymer, Focdera, vol. iii (1706), p. 389: iin anel d'or, un saphir; lequel Seint Dunstan forga de ses mains; this second entry is from the list of jewels found in the possession of Piers Gaveston.
' Izaak Walton, I.ifi of Dr. Joliii Donne, p. 72 (Temple Classics).
'^ /'roc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, 2nd series, i, p. 277.
INTRODUCTION XVll
take particular examples, tlie I-^arly Christian or Anglo-Saxon rings, which arc not very numerous, would be lost if distributed among the large and diverse classes of signets, love-rings, devotional or ornamental rings. On the other hand, the great mass of mediaeval and later rings contains many examples to which a country can only be conjecturally given, their purpose being far clearer than their origin ; in this case it has seemed desirable to make use rather than origin ihe/iauiaiiiciitiiiit divisioiiis. Moreover, as a matter of practice, these later rings have generally been classed in this way, and a departure from common usage is best avoided unless the change brings with it a distinct archaeological gain.
During the Christian centuries the earlier uses of rings were retained and Uses of amplified. The signet {sec p. 37) suffered no loss in popularity, holding its own ""ings. b}- the side of the non-annular seal, especially as a secrctuin for private corre- spondence : the Collection contains examples of almost every century. The same statement holds good of betrothal and marriage rings {see p. 161), which in different styles and fashions have preserved their importance in all civilized countries ; love-rings are no less general, and are represented in the Collection by very numerous examples. The amuletic use of rings did not diminish with the fall of the Roman Empire ; the charm-ring, which survives even in our own day, enjoyed in mediaeval times a vogue which hardly decreased at the Renaissance, and showed no serious sign of abatement among the educated classes until the eighteenth century. Rings made for religious purposes multiplied in the Christian era to an extent probably unknown in pagan ages ; they are characterized by inscriptions, representations of sacred persons and saints, and even by mechanical aids to devotion such as the knobs of the decade-ring, forming a class which is excelled by few in numbers and significance {sec p. 103). As a mark of rank, on the other hand, the ring docs not seem to have increased in favour ; it was assumed by kings, ecclesiastical dignitaries, and others to indicate their rank or office, but was not employed, as in Roman times, to distinguish a wholp class of society, nor was it recognized as a mark of military distinction. It simply indicated wealth or social status by the value of its material or workman- ship, not differing in this respect from any other form of jewellery. Some rings served as credentials or signs of investiture, such a purpose being commonly assigned to the so-called papal rings (nos. 833 ff.) ; again, the attachment of rings to charters might authenticate the conveyance of estates. The custom of wearing mourning-rings in remembrance of the dead became general at the close of the Middle Ages, and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was almost universal in England {sec p. li). Rings not unfrcquently served for other memorial uses — to commemorate a living person, a cause, such as that of the Stuarts (nos. 1359 ff-), or an historical event : all these uses are exemplified among the rings of the Collection. The purely ornamental use of rings has never ceased, and the variety of types is too great for brief description ; it is hoped that from the plates and the blocks in the text the reader may be able to form an idea of the styles prevailing in the different centuries.
xvin
INTRODUCTION
Dating of rings.
Material of rings : parts of the ring.
The precise dating of rings in the Middle Ages is often a matter of great difficulty ; sometimes it is impossible. Where rings bear historical names ; where they have been found in the tombs of known personages, as is the case with several episcopal rings at Durham and elsewhere ; or. again, where they have occurred in association with coins, like the examples from Lark Hill, Worcester (nos. 1740 ff.), their age can be stated within narrow limits. But such cases are rare, and the age of a ring must usually be determined by its type, by the nature of its ornament or legend, or by more general considerations of stj-le. The more precise sources of information on which we have to rely may be divided into two main classes — first, the archaeological and artistic ; second, the documentary and literary. Neither class has yet been fully used ; no student has yet instituted a really comprehensive research, amassing and sifting the evidence of interments, monuments of all kinds, charters, inventories, wills, MSS., books, paintings, engravings, any and all the material, in .-^hort, from which an accession to knowledge may reasonably be expected. The field is so wide, the patience demanded by its exploration so infinite, that there need be no surprise if the really exhaustive treatise on rings is still awaited : nor need the confession of its absence imply any disparagement of the many excellent books, ancient and modern, to which every student of the subject must admit his obligation.
The material of which rings are made is very various. Gold, silver, and bronze account for the greater number ; iron and lead are rare ; in magic rings there may be, for astrological reasons, a combination of two metals (cf. no. 909). Of other substances, ivory was occasionally chosen ; the Collection contains two ivory rings to which attention may be drawn — a signet of the sixteenth century with a religious subject (no. 778).' and one of Zick's 'Trinity rings', formed of two fine interlacing hoops turned out of the solid, a proof of skill so great that only three of these rings are said to have been made (no. 1727). Amber and horn are rarelj' found. Occasionally the whole ring is cut from the solid stone, the favourite gems for the purpose being carnelian, chalcedony, and rock crystal. -
It may be of service to state the terms usually employed in the description of rings.* The circle of metal or other substance surrounding the finger is called the hoop or shank. The setting, including the stone, is generally known as the bezel (der. Sp. biscl; cf French, biseau), literally, the basil edge, or ledge retaining the jewel in the cavity ; a more logical term is the French c/iatoii, akin to the German word hasten, and signifying the cavity itself. But the word bezel has now a meaning far wider than that suggested by its etymology. It generally signifies the salient or characteristic part of a ring; thus the part of the signet engraved with
' Cf. the Ivor)- armorial signet of the fifth Earl of Shrewsbury (Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, i, p. 48).
■' Cf. F. H. Marshall, Catalogue, as above, p. xxxvi ; C. \V. King, Antique Gems and Rings, p. 372.
' The Latin and Greek terms are given by F. H. Marshall, Catalogue, p. I.
INTRODUCTION
XIX
tlie device is commonly called its bezel, though there maj'- be no cavity or stone ; the word is similarly used in the case of rings which have no gem. The parts of the hoop approaching the bezel on either side are known as the shoulders.
Most of the stones used in ancient times were also used in the Middle Ages ; Gems in among the favourites were the rubj', sapphire, em.erald, garnet, diamond, rock f "^S^ = crystal, topaz, peridot, and amethyst.' The cutting of simple designs like '™' ^ '°"^' monograms on gems was still practised in the sixth century, as we know from
Fig. 2. Hands of Queen IVIary Tudor. From the portrait by Lucas de Heerc in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
the letter of St. Avitus, mentioned below (p. xxix). But the art ot cutting in intaglio and cameo, if not entirely lost, is at any rate extremely rare between the fall of the Roman Empire and the fourteenth century. There was an interlude in the time of the later Prankish kings, when intaglios on crystal, some, like the crystal of Lothair in the British Museum, of great scope, were produced in some numbers.^ Whatever the facts may be as to the Dark Ages, it seems
' The Collection contains the above, and, in addition, garnet, ahnandine, carbuncle, jacinth, sard, carnelian, beryl, chalcedony, turquoise, lapis lazuli, onyx and nicolo, plasma, jasper, &c.
^ Archaeologia, lix, p. 25. There are cases which make us doubt whether the disappearance of the art was quite as absolute as has been suggested. The gem in the ring of .Agilbert, liishop of Paris about .\. D. 5"o, had a gem engraved with St. Jerome kneeling before a crucitix a subject which
XX INTRODUCTION
to be established that the engraving of gems was practically unknown in the Romanesque period, and it is not until the fourteenth century that the art was really revived in Italy.' At the close of that century, the period of Charles V and his brother the Due de Berri, it seems to have established itself in France, and from that time onwards was practised in all countries, reaching its highest point in the Italy of the high Renaissance. In the Byzantine Empire it had survived without interruption, but as a decadent art, at its best producing work which is respectable but never of great quality, and apparently confined to cameos. From the first half of the sixteenth century gem engraving was universal, but everywhere there was a gradual decline in excellence ; with some exceptions, the work of the seventeenth century is of small merit. The latter half of the eighteenth century witnessed a revival, based upon the spread of classical knowledge and the taste for the antique, but the popularity of such gems hardly survived the French Empire, and rings are now cut with little more than arms, crests, or initials. I\Iany eighteenth-century gems are mounted in hoops made for the convenience of collectors ; but in the majority of cases these are merely settings, neither worn nor intended to be worn : and the series of these 'collectors' rings ' in the Museum is not included in the present Catalogue. It does not of course follow from the above that engraved gems were not used before the fourteenth centurj^ but only that gems with intaglio subjects employed in the earlier ^Middle A\ges were antique. Many of these were mounted in non-annular signets,- but the number of those set in rings is considerable, and there are representative examples in the Collection (cf nos. 217 ff.). Elaborate faceting of stones did not become common until the Renaissance ; but simple faceting into pyramidal and other forms appears at a much earlier date. One or two mediaeval examples are in the Collection (cf. no. 1780) ; better known examples are the rings of Bishops Fiambard (1099-1128) and William de St. Barbara (1143-52) in the Chapter Library at Durham. As a general rule, gems in the Middle Ages were cut £11 cabochon ; that is, the stone was evenly rounded, and then polished. The
cannot be earlier than the end of the fifth centur)'. The ring was found in his sarcophagus in 1636, and was examined by the learned A. de Saussay, who describes it in his Panoplia Episcopalis, p. 1S3 (Paris, 1646). Unfortunately this ring is lost, as also another with an intaglio representing St. Paul the Hermit kneeling before a crucifix, found in the tomb of St. Ebregisilus, Bishop of Meaux in a. d. 660, and mentioned by Mabillon {Aiinal. Onl. S. Benedidi, i. p. 456). On these rings the reader may consult M. Ueloche, Elude sur les anneaux sigillaires et autres des premiers silcles du moyen age, pp. xvii, xviii. We must also recall the ring of St. Amulph, Bishop of Metz (.\.D. 614-26), now in the cathedral of that city; the rude intaglio upon agate, representing a basket and fish, may well be of the Bishop's time (E. Babelon, Hist, de la s^iavure siir gemmcs en France, p. 7).
' Scipione .Ammirati, S/oria di Firc>i~e, xiv, p. 741, mentions one Benedetto Peruzzi as an engraver of the latter part of the fourteenth centurj- ; see also Cicognara, Storia delta Sciitliira, ii, p. 127. For the whole subject see C. W. King, Antique Gems and Rings, pp. 412 fi".
^ See C. W. King in Arch. Journal, xxi, p. 319 ; xxii, p. 1 18 AT. Also other notices in the same Journal, iii, p. 76; iv, p. i;o; vi, p. 435 ; .\, p. 328: .\i, pp. 84, 266; xiii, p. 369 ; .\vi, p. 357 ; xxvi, p. 84. See also Proc. Sec. Antiquaries of London, 2nd series, i, p. 51.
INTRODUCTION
XXI
diamond was not entjjravcd before the Renaissance, and the credit of first accom- plishintj the feat has been ascribed to various persons. Gorlacus mentions Jacopo da Trezzo of Milan > as the inventor of the process. Charles the Hold is said to have liberally rewarded L. de Berquem for cutting the diamond, but his work- was probably of a simpler character.'^ At an earlier date some of the faces of the crystal of diamond had been polished, and the stone set in rings, the polished pyramid of the octahedron projecting, the unpolished remaining embedded in the bezel.^
Glass pastes,-* simulating gems, had been familiar to the Romans, and their use was continued by the Teutonic tribes,^ who also knew how^ to enhance the effect b>- the use of the foil.'' which is a metallic leaf of variable colour placed under a clear paste or gem, or a gem of inferior quality, to enhance the effect. The doublet is a thin piece of colourless or pale stone, cut table fashion, to the lower side of which a coloured paste is cemented ; the paste is hidden by
the mount, and the upper surface answers all the tests for hardness." Cardan * describes various methods of simulating or improving gems used in his day and similar to those now practised. For the supposed medical and amuletic properties of gems sec below, p. xliii.
Precious stones have always pro- Niello and vided the principal embellishment of ^'^^™^'- finger-rings, whether there be a single gem in the bezel, or a series covering a great part of the surface. But from a very early period the surface of hoop and bezel might be enriched with niello or enamel. The former substance, well known to antiquity, is found on rings of the Early Christian centuries ; it is common on Byzantine rings, and contributes in a striking manner to the
Fig. 3. Signet worn on Thumb. (.After Burlington Fine Arts Club Illustrated Cata- logue of Early German Art, 1906, plate xxii. School of Nuremberg.)
' He engraved a diamond with the arms of Philip II of Spain (C. W. King, Antique Gems and Rings, p. 426). Caradosso is also stated to have first engraved the diamond.
- C. W. King, Arch. Journal, xxi, p. 322. For the diamond signet of Charles I, now at Windsor, see C. D. E. Fortnum in Archaeologia, xlv, p. 26. This was perhaps engraved by Francis Wahvyn.
■" For precious stones in their scientific and artistic relations see Precious Stones, by Sir Arthur Church, new edition, 1905 (Board of Education, South Kensington).
* .A. H. Church, Precious Stones, p. 51.
" Deloche, Etude sur les anneau.v, &c., pp. xvi, xvii. Frankish tombs have yielded imita- tions of agate, amethyst, chalcedony, and emerald. Some of these may have been of Roman origin, but, when stones were not available, the barbaric tribes all employed glass in the manu- facture of their jewellery inlaid with pastes simulating garnets.
" Ibid., p. xviii.
' .A. H. Church, p. 52.
" J. Cardan, De subtilitate, &c., Bk. vii, p. 177.
XXll INTRODUCTION
effect of the Anglo-Saxon rings which form so valuable a part of the Collection. In the later mediaeval times it was chiefly favoured in Italy, where it is especially familiar in the characteristic love-rings of the fifteenth century. Enamel was but little employed on rings before the fourteentli century, after which period its use was continuous. Among the earlier groups which were regularly enamelled are the iconographic rings with figures of saints dating from the fifteenth century (nos. 722 ff.). In the sixteenth centur\% rings, like contemporarj- jewels, were sumptuously enamelled, and the process continued to modem times ; in the case of the large class of mourning-rings it is almost constant. Wearing The custom of wearing finger-rings has been continuous. It prevailed through
01 rings, g^ij {j^g earlier centuries of the Middle Ages, nobles and princes spending great sums upon rings as upon other jewels. Such inventories as that of Charles V of France at the close of the fourteenth century well illustrate the profusion of the great at a time when it was usual to hold property in the portable form of plate and jewels. The growth of commerce and the increase of prosperity in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries introduced luxurious habits among the middle class ; and the inventories and wills of the time reveal a remarkable wealth of such possessions. To this period belong the most numerous paintings and works of art illustrating the use of rings, the most valuable being the pictures of the Flemish and German schools, with their careful elaboration of detail, while ne.xt to these in precision come the works of Italian painters, from which a multitude of interesting facts may be derived. It may be here observed that pictures do not always afford the information we should expect, for during some periods when rings were certain!)- worn they are sparingly represented. The seventeenth century, as we know from the number of surviving examples, was still prolific in rings. But it is curious that they hardlj' ever appear in the portraits of the time ; and were we to argue from pictures alone, we might conclude that the fashion of wearing rings had fallen into general disfavour. A walk through any large picture-gallery will soon reveal the difference in this respect between the seventeenth century and the Renaissance. Rings are absent precisely where we should most e.xpect to find them ; the Court beauties of Lely at Hampton Court have hardly one among them, and the same absence is marked in contemporary portraits of both sexes preserved in other places. It may have been that Lely, Knellcr, and their followers considered that rings interfered with the effect of the hands; but the drawing is not always of such a quality as to justify the conclusion, and sitters of other periods have not removed their rings with the same uniformity. It is not until the second half of the eighteenth century that rings appear frequently again : the portraits by Sir Thomas Lawrence are especially valuable for their stud}'.
The manner of wearing rings ^ is necessarilj' restricted, but the fashions of antiquity were for the most part preserved, and a few new customs were introduced.
' For customs in earlier times cf. F. H. Marshall, Catalogue, p. sxvi.
INTI.:ODUCTION
XXlll
The second finger, the dij^^i/z/s iiifmiiis of the Romans, remahied tlie least popular,
tliough it was not altogether avoided ; for example, to take instances from three
different periods, the effigy of King John in Worcester Cathedral shows a ring on
the second finger of the right hand,' St. Nicholas of B.iri in Signorelli's 'Virgin and
Child ' in the National Gallery (fig. cS) wears one upon the middle finger of each hand,
and one is found on the left middle
finger of Lawrence's portrait of the
Countess of Blessington. The other
fingers were almost impartially
used, though the third was perhaps
the most favoured, especially for
betrothal and marriage rings ; a
ring was quite commonly worn by -^^^^^^M^i^^^^
both sexes on the thumb down
to the sixteenth century. The Fig. 4. Signet on First Finger. From the
allusions in Chaucer and Shake- ' f °"'''''',' °^,^ ''^'''" ' ^"'' ^'^^™' Christus (d. 1473).
National liallery. speare to rings worn on the thumb
are well known,- and signets were frequently carried on it (fig. 3)."
The first finger, now seldom used for the purpose, frequently carried a ring,
especially the signet.* Many portraits confirm the prevalence of this custom,
' C. A. Stothard, Mo7iuinental Effigies, pi. xi. In the Liber Regalis de exequiis regalibus it is stated that a gold or gilt ring was placed on the middle finger of the King's right hand on interment (Archaeologia, iii, p. 387).
■ Notes and Queries, 5th series, iv, p. 252 ; 4th series, x, p. iSo.
^ Accessible examples in works of art are — National Galleiy : Signorelli's ' Virgin and Child ' (ring worn by St. Nicholas of Bari) (fig. S) ; Solario, 'Portrait of a Senator' (no. 923); Lorenzo di San Severino, ' Marriage of St. Catharine ' (ring worn by episcopal saint) (fig. 10) ; M. Marziale, 'Circumcision' (ring worn by a woman on the left); M. Marziale, 'Virgin and Child' (ring worn by an episcopal saint) ; Aldegrever, ' Portrait of a Gentleman' ; Memlinc, ' Portrait of the Duke of Cleves ' (fig. 5 1.
National Portrait Gallery : Edward IV ; Mary of Lorraine, Queen of James V of Scotland (1515-60).
Hampton Court: Elizabeth Bourbon, Queen of Philip IV of Spain (School of Velasquez) ; B. Lichinio, ' Family Group ' (ring worn by the father) ; Zucchero, ' Queen Elizabeth.'
Windsor Castle: Portrait of Richard III {Burlington Maga"ine, June, 1911, plate opposite p. 122).
Wallace Collection : Van Dyck, ' Wife of Philippe le Roy.'
Among monumental effigies may be mentioned that of Robert Lord Hungerford (d. 1455) in Salisbury Cathedral (C. A. Stothard, Monumental Effigies, pi. 130).
A few other paintings may be mentioned : Hemline's ' St. Blaise ' in Liibeck Cathedral ; Raphael's 'Cardinal Inghirami' ; Rembrandt, 'A Jewess' ; Rubens. ' Marie de Medicis'.
Sometimes two rings were worn on the thumb, as in Holbein's portrait of Jacob Meyer, Burgomaster of Basel.
In one case, the monument of Bishop Oldham (d. A. u. 15 19) in Exeter Cathedral, a single ring appears to be passed over both thumbs.
■■ Cf. in the National Gallery Moroni's ' Portrait of an Ecclesiastic ', and the portrait of Dr. Fuschius by Bart. Bruyn.
XXIV INTRODUCTION
especially in the sixteenth century. Sir William Paulet. Marquis of Winchester, in the picture belonging to the Society of Antiquaries here reproduced (fig. 7 ; cf. fig. 4), affords an excellent illustration of the custom, and the picture is of additional interest in that the signet is of a kind very popular in England ; it is armorial, with the arms cut in crystal, the tinctures painted beneath so as to be visible but at the same time unexposed to damage from the hot wax (cf. nos. 316 fif. and p. xxxi below). The episcopal ring, as noticed elsewhere, was worn on the third or the first finger. The fourth finger of both hands was used for rings.
The practice of wearing rings on the upper joints ^ was not uncommon ; there seems to have been no distinction of sex, for we find kings, popes, and dukes rivalling queens and other ladies in this particular. It was natural that the third joint should be more rarely chosen, but even of this examples can be found ; the monument of Lady Grushill in Hoveringham Church, Nottinghamshire, is a case in point.- An excessive predilection for rings seems also to have been shared by both sexes. The eftigy of Lady Stafford in Bromsgrove Church, Staftbrdshire (A. D. 1450), shows rings on every finger, and, centuries later, a portrait of the ^larchioness of Londonderrj- by Lawrence appears to show at least ten rings on the left hand.^ The hands of Queen ^lary Tudor, from the portrait by Lucas de Heere in the Librarj- of the Society of Antiquaries of London, have been selected for illustration (fig. 2) because the rings are very clearly painted. It will be obser\'ed that all the six are of a similar type. Though such a number as ten rings on one hand cannot perhaps be paralleled in the case of men, the occurrence of half a dozen for the two hands is frequent, from the eflig}' of Bishop Oldham mentioned on the previous page, to Raphael's familiar portrait of Julius II in the National Gallery (fig. la). Johann Reuss, in Cranach's portrait in the Germanic Museum of Nuremburg (a. D. 1503), has three rings on the little finger of the right hand, with a thumb-ring and another on the left.* Heavy rings were often worn by children : Holbein's ' Princess Eliza-
' The custom of wearing rings on the second joint of the finger is illustrated in the following pictures :
National Gallery: Ambrogio Borgognone, 'Family Portraits' (no. 780); M. Marziale, ' Circumcision ' (rings worn by woman on the left) ; ' Portrait of a Lady ', German School (no. 722); R. van der Weyden. ' Portrait of a Lady' (no. 1433' ; Mabuse, ' St. Mar>' Magdalen (no. 2163) : Memlinc, ■ Duke of Cleves' (fig. 5) ; Benozzo Gozzoli, 'Virgin and Child with Saints' (ring worn by St. Zenobius).
Hampton Court: Savoldo, 'The Holy Family' (ring worn by the donatrLx).
Windsor Castle: Portraits of Henry V and Henr>' VI, painted for Henrj- VII {Burlin^on Magazine, June, 191 1, p. 122).
* C. A. Stothard, Monumental Effigies, pi. 110.
' For numerous rings a few pictures may be mentioned. The portrait of the Countess of Richmond, mother of Henr)- \T1, is a good example for England. Signorelli, ' Virgin and Child with Saints,' National Gallery— St. Nicholas of Bari wears five rings (fig. 81 ; Holbein, 'Jacob Meyer, Burgomaster of Basel '—five or six rings on the left hand ; Sir Thomas Lawrence, ' Lady Peel ' — six on the third finger of the left hand ; ' Portrait of Benedikt von Hertenstein ' (fig. 16).
' E. Flechsig, Tafelbildcr Lucas Cranachs des Alieren. 1900.
INTRODUCTION
XXV
bcth ' at Hampton Court, represented at the age of thirteen, has four massive gold rings with gems; Velasquez' portrait of the Infanta Maria Teresa, afterwards Queen of Louis XIV, now in the Prado at Madrid, shows the princess wearing two heavy rings on the right hand ; at the time when the portrait was painted she was ten j-ears of age.'
Rings were worn over gloves especially by ecclesiastics, but also by other persons. Pictures in the National Gallery illustrate the custom.- The habit of slashing the fingers of the gloves in order to show the rings beneath appears to have been common about A. 1). 1500 and is often shown in the works of Lucas Cranach ; the hands of Iiis 'Judith with the head of Holoferncs' are reproduced (fig. 13) to illustrate the custom, which, as other pictures by Cranach show,'' was adopted even by bishops. Finger-rings were worn on the person in other ways than on the fingers. Sometimes they appear strung round the neck, as in several portraits by Cranach, of which one, that of the Elector John the Constant of Saxony, painted in 1,526, is here partly reproduced (fig. 6); * a portrait of an old lady by an artist of the School of Cranach affords an even better example (fig. 15). The reason is possibly to be sought in the general belief in the amuletic properties of precious stones (see p. xliii). At other times a ring is seen threaded on the cord of a hat.^ Yet another manner of wearing a ring was to suspend it from the neck by a long string. Examples of this are seen in portraits of the Tudor period, for instance in the portrait of Robert Cecil, first h^arl of Salisbury,
Fig. 5. H.ANDS of the Duke of Cleves. From the portrait by Memlinc in the National Gallery.
' The fondness for rings in the latter half of the sixteenth century is proved by the number mentioned in the inventories of the middle classes. Thus the inventory of Laurence Rookbye, merchant, mentions nine gold rings, weighing zf oz. (Surtees Society, xxxv, p. 429).
" Botticini, 'St. Jerome with SS. Damasiis, Eusebius, Paula, and Eustochium' (no. 227) — St. Damasus wears five rings over his gloves (fig. 11); Lorenzo di San Severino (no. 249), ' Marriage of St. Catharine'— four rings over the gloves of the episcopal saint on the right (fig. 10); cf. M. Maiziale, ' Virgin and Child enthroned,' a picture already cited ; Cranach, ' Portrait of a Lady' (no. 291).
* Cf. also his portrait of Sibylla of Cleves.
* E. Flechsig, Tafelbilder L. Cranachs des Atteien, 1900, pi. 88 ; pi. 87 and 89 illustrate the same fashion.
" Portrait inthe Pinakothek at Munich of Bernhard I\', Margrave of Baden (1474-1536}, by Hans Baldung Grien {Classical Picture Gallery, .x. 32).
XXVI INTRODUCTION
in the possession of Viscount Powerscourt ; ' a second portrait of the same noble- man, belonging to the Right Rev. IMonsignor Lord Pet re and dated 1599, exhibits the same feature.- A ring worn on the hand is occasionally further secured by a string or band. A portrait of Sir Henry Lee. K.G., by Sir Antonio IMore, painted in 1,568, and belonging to Viscount Dillon, shows the left thumb in a ring suspended by a cord round the neck.^
Rings were sometimes attached to objects of value, especially those of a devotional nature. The Waddesdon Collection in the British Museum affords an example of this custom in a devotional carving in wood of the fourteenth century, suspended by a chain at the end of which is a gold signet-ring, no. 229 of the present Catalogue.* Another instance is recorded in the inventory of the jewels of Henry V, in which we read of a gold devotional tablet set with rubies, sapphires, and pearls, and, fastened by a chain, a ring set with a diamond.^ Examples like this recall the offering of rings among otiier jewels at famous shrines, among others, that of St. Erkenwald in old St. Paul's."
Rings are sometimes seen, in pictures, upon the cylinders on which they were kept in jewel caskets or cabinets. The portrait of Costanza de' Medici by Lorenzo di Credi in the National Gallery (no. 2490) shows one with three rings upon it. Another (fig. 17) occurs in the portrait of a jeweller by a painter of the Saxon School.' Such cylinders, obviously the most convenient carriers of rings, seem to be mentioned in mediaeval inventories.*
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE RINGS"
Early Christian rings have been so often described that little need be said of them here. The pagan usage of wearing the ring, especially the signet, was retained by Christians, who engraved the bezels with names and acclamations,
^ E.vhibited in the Tudor E.xhibition, 1890 (Catalogue, no. 330).
' Ibid. no. 312. ' ' Ibid. no. 268.
* C. H. Read, The Waddesdon Bequest, Catalogue of Works of Art, no. 231.
* The inventory was made in the second year of Henry VI. The entry, after describing the tablet, continues : et ung Anul pendatit p ung cheyne a dit Tabiilet, garniz d'un Diatn. (Rotuli Parliametitorum, iv, p. 21S). Another entry (p. 220) mentions: I Anulx pendatit a I Cheyne, ovec I Diainand garniz de xviii Perles.
* \V. Sparrow Simpson, St. Paul's Cathedral and Old City Life, pp. 12, 15.
' Portfolio of Anonymous German Masters, published by the Burlington Fine .\rts Club, London.
' The inventory of jewels taken with Piers Gaveston (T. Rymer, Foedera, vol. iii (ed. 1706), p. 389: item, sur un autre baston sept Aneux).
' C. Babington in Smith and Cheetham's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, s. v. Pings; H. Leclercq in Cabrol's Dictionnaire danheologie chretienne, s. v. Anneaux ; Martigny, Des anneaux dis premiers Chretiens, &c., Macon, 1858, and Dictionnaire des antiquites chretiennes, s.v. Anneaux; F. X. Kraus, Real-Encyklopiidie, s. v. Ring; E. Waterton, in Arch.fournal, xxvi, pp. 137-47 : xxviii, pp. 268-77, 284-91.
INTRODUCTION XXVll
e.g. vii'as in Deo. sometimes accompanied by the bust of the owner, or with those symbols of the dove, the fish, the fislicrman, tlic anchor, the sliip, &c., whicli St. Clement declared to be the proper devices for Christian usc.^ Examples of these s)inbols appear on rintjs in the Catalogue, and on engraved gems of the same period in the Museum Collections.- W'c know from St. James ■■ that in the time of the Apostles wealthy Christians wore gold rings ; and that several of the Fathers found reason to protest against extravagance in the manner of wearing such ornaments.'' A few surviving rings may be earlier than Constantine, but the greater number are of the fourth and succeed- ing centuries, and in form resemble contemporary pagan work.'' We may specially note the key-rings (nos. i and 3) and no. 12, which is in the form of a shoe, intended to indicate full possession of the thing sealed. The commonest material is bronze, but a considerable proportion are of gold : silver rings are rarer.
In a few cases the ring is cut from the solid stone, such as carnelian (e.g. no. 30).
The Christian betrothal-ring was usually of p-j^j^ (,_ Rin(;s worn round
gold from the second century onwards.'' It was the_ Neck. From a portrait
., I • 1 . • 1 i 1 ■• - of Kurfiirst John Constans of
not necessarily plam, but might be sometimes in- g^^^^y ;„ ^^ Coll. of Prince
scribed with a legend. It is probably impossible George of Saxony, Dresden.
to distinguish between the betrothal -ring and that
used during the ceremony of marriage ; ' most early mentions of the ring seem
to apply rather to the former.'
East Christian and Byzantine rings exist in considerable numbers, the later
e.xamples showing affinities with Saracenic types. The signet persisted throughout
the period of the East Roman Empire ; those of precious metal are chiefly of the
earlier centuries. More numerous are the bronze e.xamples of the middle periods.
A large series has the invocation: O Lord preserve the tcearer, ox thy servant
' Paedagog. iii, ch. xi. Other devices not mentioned by Clement are the Good Shepherd, sacred monogram (C/ii Rho), palm-branch, the lamb, alpha and omega, &c.
" Catalogue of Early Christian and Byzantine Antiquities, plates i and ii.
' Ep. ii. 2.
' Tertullian, de halt, muliehr. c. 5 ; De cultu feniinancni, c. ix (Migne, Pair. Lat. i, col. 1 314) ; Apol. c. 6; Clement of Alexandria, as above; Cyprian, de Hab. Virg. c. 14; Basil, Howil. ad Divit, c. 4 ; Jerome, Epist. ad Laet. c. 5— all cited by Babington.
'^ On the forms see C. D. E. Fortnum in Arch. Journal, xxvi, p. 1 38.
° Tertullian, Apologet. c. vi (Migne, Patr. I.at. i, col. 302).
' Leclercq in Cabrol, as above, col. 2191.
' See Babington, as above, p. 1808. The wearing of the ring on the third finger of the left hand was probably the earliest usage in Italy (A. du Saussay, Panoplia Episcopatis, p. 263 ; Deloche, Etude . . . sur tes anneaux . . . des premiers sic'ctes, p. Ixi). It must be remembered that when the ancient writers speak of 'the fourth finger' they mean our third, since they counted the thumb as the first.
XXVIU INTRODUCTIOX
such a one : and a still larger group, monograms embodying a similar formula, or composing the owner's name (nos. 95 ff.). The intaglio gem was little, if at all, used for sealing, the lead bulla stamped by a die being commonly used for attestation of documents.^ Amulet-rings were freelj' worn under the Byzantine Empire, and two examples may be noticed (nos. 59,' 73) ; the Medusa-like head of no. 59 was supposed to preserve from colic.
The most remarkable rings in the Collection are the gold marriage-rings enriched with niello, which may be as early as the seventh century (nos. 46-9), the earlier marriage-ring (no. 127), the gold signets (nos. 38, 88, 94, iii, 112), the ring containing a coin of Marcian (no. 130) with its hoop fashioned in the shape of two hares. It is to be feared that the association of no. 94 with the Emperor Manuel Comnenus is too conjectural to be seriously maintained, though there are a few rings in other collections assigned with some probability to historical persons.-
EARLY TEUTONIC RINGS ^
The Teutonic tribes who invaded the Roman Empire were great wearers of rings ; archaeological discoveries show that these ornaments were worn by adults and children of both sexes.^ The number of graves excavated in France, Germany, and England is large and the material for comparative study extensive.
A considerable proportion of rings are signets, with portraits, names or mono- grams, and emblems such as the cross, the Clii Rho, dove, &c. ; most of these have the designs cut in a metal bezel.* Gems being rarely engraved before the ninth centur)-, intaglios in Teutonic rings are almost always antique, which usually means Late Roman. The subjects of these are figures of Victory, Jupiter, Fortuna, and others of the same kind, the legend, if any, being engraved round the metal setting. But, as already stated, there seems to be some evidence for the cutting of intaglios in the seventh century in the case of the rings made for the Bishops Agilbert, Ebregisilus, and Arnulph (pp. xix, xx). The signets of Frankish kings are mentioned below. Teutonic rings were frequently of gold or silver, the latter being sometimes gilded. The commonest method of ornamentation is by
' After the Early Christian centuries the Byzantine gem-engravers seem to have preferred to work in cameo.
- G. Schlumberger, Melanges iVarch. byz. i, p. 349, massive gold ring with the name ot Basil 1 ; gold ring with the name of Aetius, patrician, and Stralegus, slain by the Saracens in the ninth century (ibid. p. 43, and Leclercq in Cabrol, as above, p. 220S).
' M. Deloche, Etude historique et arch^ologique sur les anneaux sigillaires et mitres des premiers sihles dii may en Age, Paris, 1900; the same, ' Le port des anneaux dans Tantiquite romaine et dans les premiers si^cles du moyen age,' in Mem. de CAcad. des Inscr. et Bellcs- Lettres, xxxv, 2'' parlie, p. 226.
* Barri^re-Klavy, Les arts indiistriels des Gatiles, Album, pi. Ixili-lxiv. Such was the signet of Childeric, now lost, described by J. Chifflet, Anastasis Childerici I Francorum regis, &c., 1655 ; see also Deloche, Etude, p. 1S9.
INTRODUCTION XXIX
applied wire, and by pellets, while some rings arc set with contiguous table garnets, or pastes simulating them, these being the features which most con- spicuously distinguish the Early Teutonic from the Roman ring. Some rings are nielloed, and a few arc enamelled, though these arejjrobably not earlier than the ninth century.
The rings finuid in pagan i\nglo-Saxon cemeteries are for the most part plain in character (nos. J87 ft'.). But the later Anglo-Saxon series contains in addition a number of fine gold rings independently found on tlic surface of the ground ; some arc enriched with niello, two bearing royal names (sn; above, p. xiv). The ring of Alhstan, Bishop of Sherborne, now at South Kensington, is also richly nielloed ; and the group as a whole confirms the opinion of the ability of Anglo-Saxon goldsmiths which we derive from such objects as the Alfred Jewel in the Ashmolcan Museum at Oxford. Among other notable Anglo-Saxon rings is one in the same museum with a name Ehlla (?) and what has commonly been read as a profession of faith [Fides in Christo). A few Frankish rings appear to have been given as betrothal-rings, among others that conjecturally assigned to Basine, Queen of Childeric I ; ^ but, as with Early Christian rings, it seems impossible to assert of any that they were used in the actual ceremony of marriage."
SIGNETS
Early Christian, Byzantine, and Early Teutonic signets have been incidentally mentioned (p. xxvii), but a few details may here be added. St. Augustine's signet is said to have had an intaglio head in profile. Clovis, King of the Franks, at the beginning of the sixth century promised to recognize the letters of the Galilean bishops if authenticated by their seals.^ About the same period Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, describes the manner in which he desired his signet to be made — with a swivel, and engraved with his name in full and in monogram.* The signet of Arnulph, Bishop of Metz, a gold ring with a carnelian engraved with a fish in a basket between smaller fish, is preserved in the cathedral at that city.'' The seal becoming more and more essential in illiterate ages, the use of the signet-ring continued practically without a break after the fall of Rome. It was essential to the Franks and other Teutonic tribes, who, as already stated,
' Deloche, Etude, &c-, no. clxxx. The story of the sending of a betrothal-ring by Clovis I to Clotilda is told by Fredegarius, His/aria Francorum epitomata, c. xviii (in Migne, Pair. Laf. Ixxi, col. 584).
^ In Gaul the ring seems to have been worn on the right hand, contrary to the usual practice in early centuries (Deloche, Etude, p. Ixi).
' Anulo sigiuitas. Gregory of Tours, in Migne, Patr. Lai. Ixxi.
* Letter Ixxviii, in Migne, as above, lix, pp. 280-1. Cf. E. Le Blant, Inscriptions ckri't. de la Gaule, ii, p. 50.
•'■' Martigny, Dictionnaire des antiquith cArc'tiennes, s. v. Anneau episcopal. As already noted (p. xx), the signet of Ebregisilus had an intaglio representing St. Paul the Hermit (Smith and Cheetham, Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, col. 1S04).
C
XXX
INTRODUCTION
commonly engraved a name, monogram, or device upon a metal bezel,' or set an antique intaglio in the ring." Throughout the duration of the Byzantine Empire,
KiG. 7. PoRTKArr OF THE i\Iar(juis of Winchester id. 1572), in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries of London, showing armorial signet.
' .Monograms were, however, occasionally cut on gems, as in tlie already-cited case of St Avitus, whose ring was set with a Tcr/ia/is lupis.
• The Merovingian kings used rings for the signature of state documents, and these were kept by a dignitary known as the rc/ercndarius. Sigebert II appointed St. Bonitus, Bishop of Cltrniont, to this office, antiulo ex manu regis rccepto (L'/e, Jan. 15) ; and the rcfeyeiuiariiis of Dagobert, fatlier of Sigebert, sealed documents on the king's behalf with the royal ring or seal : aiinulo regis sive sigilloab eo sibi commisso (Aimo, Eccl Hist. iv. 14, quoted by Babington
INTRODUCTION XXXI
and all through the Middle Ages in the West, the signet retained its importance ; * from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, though the need for it was less, it lost little of its popularity, and, while the more rapid methods of our own day have reduced its practical value, it still holds its ground, albeit in most cases for potential rather than actual use.
The antique gem continued in favour as a signet down to the fifteenth century and even later ^ (cf nos. 2 1 7 fif.), but, with the establishment of heraldry, the armorial signet was generally adopted by all entitled to bear arms, lixamples from Italy become frequent with the fourteenth century ; in other countries they are not common until the century following. But the best examples in this style belong to the period of Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts ; and our own country could prob- ably produce as fine types as any other — witness the series in the present Collection alone. The seal of arms was probably worn by almost every gentleman, and was so familiar an object that Sir Thomas North, translating an episode in Plutarch's Life of Artaxerxes, talks of Clearchus drawing a ' scale of amies ' from his finger ; the mental picture of what a signet should be was evidently so precise that it is insensibly reflected in his language, even though he goes on to .state that the ring was ' graven with the dance of the Caryatides '. The wills and inven- tories of this time make constant mention of armorial signets, which were often specially bequeathed. Two examples of such bequests may suffice to illustrate the practice.^ A type of armorial signet has been already mentioned (p. xxiv), which enabled the tinctures of the arms to appear, and thus lent the ring a more decora- tive character ; it was especially popular in England. In these rings the arms are engraved in crystal, under which they are repeated in colour, so that the ring can be used for impressions without wearing the colours away. The signet of Mary Queen of Scots(no.3i6),the most interesting historical ring in the Collection, is of this t}-pe, which is well illustrated in contemporary portraits ; among these may be noted that of Sir William Paulet, Marquis of Winchester, to which allusion has been made (p. xxiv; cf. fig- 7). The man not entitled to bear arms might seal with a device, either chosen at random, or concealing his name imder the form of a rebus (cf. no. 329) ; * if a merchant, he might use a merchant's mark (cf. nos. ^-fi, 559,
in Smith and Cheetham, Dkt. of Clirisiian Aiitiqiiilics, col. 1S03). I'epin is said to have sealed with an intaglio representing the Indian Bacchus, Charlemagne with a Jupiter .Serapis. For the early Frankish royal signets see C. W. King in Arch. Jimrnal, x.xii, p. 121 ; and Rev. Arch., 1S64, p. 319.
' See above, pp. xxvii, xxviii.
^ The non-annular signets for private correspondence {secreta) are of just the same character as the rings ; good examples are in the British and Victoria and Albert Museums. Cf. also Proc. Soc. Anfiguaries 0/ London , i, pp. 163-4 > Arch. Journal, viii, p. 419.
' Will of Robert Lewen, Nov. 26, 1562 : I give my ring 7eith the seall of my amies to Georg Lewen (Surtees Society, vol. cxii, 1906, Wilts and Inventories, p. 26). Will of Robert Swift, Jan. 14, 1599-1600: To my most deare and entirely beloved father, my ringc, icith the armes of the Siuiftes . . . (Ibid. p. 175).
* Cf. also Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, 2nd series, ii, p. 363.
C 2
XXXU INTRODUCTION
576. &c.).' Persons in comparatively humble walks of life used bronze signets with very rough designs ; the seal-rings bearing capital letters surmounted by crowns - were evidently very generally worn, as the number in existence is large (nos. ^^54, &c.). Though, as already observed (p. xxiii), the signet might be worn on the thumb, it was verj^ commonly placed on the first finger (cf. figs. 4 and 7:.
In addition to the signet of Mary Queen of Scots the Collection contains few others of historical interest. That with the arms and initials of Henrietta Maria (no. 650) is not contemporary with that queen ; but interest attaches to the sapphire with the initials of the Old Chevalier (no. 652). It hasieen recalled (p. xxi) that the signet of Charles I is at Windsor Castle.^
In the East the signet has been in use from time immemorial, and was employed under all the ancient civilizations, the substance which received the impression being wax or clay.* No. 2333 shows Graeco-Roman tradition adopted by some partly hellenized people on the north-western borders of India, and was intended to make an impression in wa.v. In later times the Oriental signet was invariably made to give an impression in ink on paper, a method more suitable than our own to the hot climates of the East, and this rule applies from the most westerly IMohammedan countries to China and Japan. The Oriental signet commonly bears a legend, either with the name of the owner, or with a maxim, or text from the Koran (Section 'SI. i).
DEVOTIONAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL RINGS
Religious The wearing of rings with figures or legends of a devotional character has
rings been general from Early Christian to modern times (cf. Section A) ; it did but
increase as the Middle Ages advanced and the cult of the saints extended. In addition to Early Christian examples, the Collection contains a representative series of the types most usual in mediaeval and later centuries, beginning with rings bearing inscriptions of universal adoption such as Ave Maria gratia plena or lesus Nazarctius Rex Indaeoruin (nos. 681 ff., 701). One of the principal
' Pioc. Sec. Antiquaries cf Lojidon, xii. pp. 6-7 ; .xv, p. 239. For merchants' marks see also Arch. Journal, v, p. 5 ; x-v, p. 289 ; Journ. Brit. Arch. Association, ii, p. 113 ; xlix, p. 45 ; Norfolk Archaeology, ill, p. 177.
^ For these rings cf. Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, ill, p. 259 ; vi, p. 3S4 ; x, p. 296 ; xiii, p. 214 ; XX, p. 289, &c. ; Gentleman s Magazine, Ixxiv, p. 305.
It may be of interest to give a reference here for another famous signet, the well-known ' bague de Saint-Louis' in the Louvre. M. E. Babelon considers that it is not earlier than the fifteenth centur)' [Catalogue des Camees antiques et modernes de la Bibliotheque Nationale, 1897, p. lsx.\i). The ring is figured by Barbet de Jouy, Gemmes et joyaux de la couronne, pi. xi. See also J. Labarte, Uistoire des arts industriels, iii, p. 204.
* The discoveries of inscribed wooden tablets in Turkestan show us clay still employed in the early centuries of our era, and in some cases bearing impressions of Late Roman intaglios, probably set in rings (M. Aurel Stein, Ancient Khotan, pi. xcviii-c).
INTRODUCTION
XXXUl
groups in the class is formed by the so-called icoiiographic rings, which derive their name from the sacred persons or saints with which their bezels are engraved (nos. 723 ff.). The type is characteristically English, the hoops being commonly wreathed, engraved with sprigs, and enamelled ; a note on p. 111 gives the names of the most popular saints and the reason for their choice. Icono- graphic rings were often engraved with mottoes such as mon ccenr avez, loial dhir, per bon amour, en ban an, &c., which seem to show that they were used as betrothal and New Year's gifts (nos. 722, 725, 746, 747). Special attention may be drawn to the Coventry ring (no. 718), and to no. 719, both with representations of the
Fig. 8. Hands of St. Nicholas of Bari. From Signorelli's ' Virgin and Child with Saints", National Gallery.
Five Wounds of Our Lord. Though not of the form adopted for iconographic rings, they essentially belong to the class. Memento mori rings (nos. 811 ff.) ' with a skull and cross-bones, or a complete skeleton, embodied ideas which had obtained general acceptance in the late Middle Ages, and are expressed in other minor works of art, such as ivory carvings, represented in the Mediaeval Collections.'^
Dccadc-'m\^s form another conspicuous group (nos. 788 fif.).^ These rings, of which surviving examples mostly date from the sixteenth century and later, have round the outer side a scries of knobs or projections, usually but not
' Such rings are found in inventories. Thoniasin Heath, in her will dated 1596, bequeathed to her sister ' a golde ringe with a deathe's head for a remembrance of my good will ' (Surtees Society, vol. cxii, p. 163). In Lov^s Latoiir'i Lost Biron compares Holofernes to ' a death's face in a ring '. A passage in Marston's Dutch Courtezan is often quoted to show that these rings were worn by light women about 1600. Sec F. Parkes Weber, Aspects of Death in Art, Indexi s. V. Memento mori.
- Catalogue of Ivory Carvings of the Christian Era, nos. 441-4.
' Jones, Finger-ring Lore, p. 24S ; Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, vi, p. 59; Arch, fournal, v, p. 63 ; xx, p. 74 ; Gentleman's Magazine, Ixii, p. 6 12.
XXXIV INTRODUCTION
always ten, whence the name.' They were used in the recital of the Ave or ffaiV Mary (Luke i. 28\ the prayer being repeated as each knob passed under the finger ; when the bezel with its cross was reached the Pater Nosier was said. The example with the arms of Tichborne (no. 788) is of greater intrinsic value than most, for the decade was widely dift'used, and largely used by the illiterate who could not read their prayers. The Rev. Francis Trappes con- sidered that such rings were more common in England than elsewhere, since during the existence of penal laws they could be more easily concealed than rosaries.-
The Collection does not contain examples of those rings containing relics of which there is frequent historical and documentaiy evidence. We read, for example, that Macrina, sister of St. Gregory of Nyssa, set in an iron ring a piece of the wood of the True Cross, recently discovered by St. Helena," and that Gregory the Great presented to princes golden key-rings containing filings from St. Peter's chains.* Inventories in like manner make mention of reliquary-rings : thus Elizabeth Lady Fitzhugh, in her will dated in 1427, bequeaths to her son Robert ' a Ryng with a Relyke of Saint Petre fingre '." A ring containing lignum dominiciim in a wardrobe account of Richard II would seem to be a relic-ring.'' Xor is there an example of a ring worn by a royal personage on fast days, such as the aniicl dcs Vcndrcdiz worn hy the King of France on Fridays.' Episcopal The ring was worn by bishops as by other Early Christians, but there is
rings. uncertainty as to the time when it was first used as a symbol of their oflSce.*
A ring was found on the finger of Caius, Bishop of Rome (283-96), when his tomb was opened in A. D. 1622,^ and Eusebius, bishop in A. D. 310, is said to have had a ring with the sacred monogram and his own name.*" A ring was
' The Rev. Francis Trappes, in a note on these rings in Journ. Brit. Arch. Associaticn, xiv (1858), p. 271, states that he himself had used a decade-ring at Stonyhurst, and that such rings were known as tens. This seems to dispose of Mr. Edmund Waterton's theory that the decade was not really a rosarj'-ring (Arch. Journal, xx, p. 74).
- Ibid. p. 272.
' Greg. Nyss., Lift of Macrina in Migne, Patrol. Grace, xlvi, p. 990. The wood of the True Cross probably provided relics for rings in all centuries.
* Gregory, Letters, i, Ep. xxxi ; vi, Ep. vi {see Migne, Patrol. Lut. Ixxvii, cols. 484 and 798). '■ Surtees Society, ii, 1835 {Wills ami Inventories), p. 74.
' W. Paley Baildon, Archaeologia, Ixii, p. 499. The inference is that the ring contained a fragment of wood of the Cross.
' As by Charles V (J. Labarte, Inventaire . . . de Charles V, p. S3). Two anneaux des Vciuirediz are mentioned, one with a cameo representing the Crucifixion, the other with a sapphire.
* See Babington, in Smith and Cheetham's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, col. 1803, and Leclercq in Cabrol's Dictionnaire if Arch, chrctienne et de Liturgie, col. 2181 ; Octavius Morgan, Archaeologia, xxxvi, p. 392 ; J. Kirchmann, De annulis, ch. .\.\.
° Aringhi, Roma Subt. iv, c. 48, vol. ii, p. 426; IJoldetti, Ciinit. p. 102. '" Du Saussay, Panopi, episc. p. 215.
INTRODUCTION XXXV
found in ihe tomb of Biiinus, Bishop of Dorchester (d. 640) ; " another in that of St. John of Beverley (d. 721).- The ring of Agilbert with an intaglio repre- senting St. Jerome has been noted (p. xix) ; the ring of Lcodegar or Leger, Bi.shop of Autun in the late seventh century, was prc-ei-ved in Paris in 1636 ;■' and the fine nielloed ring with the name of Alhstan, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is'attributcd to Alhstan, Bishop of Sherborne. But in all these cases there is nothing to show that the ring had anything to do with the bishop's con- secration.
There seems no proof that rings were used at the consecration of bishops before the latter half of the sixth century.* Mr. Octavius Morgan has already pointed out that in the Apostolical Constitutions, where there are minute directions for the ceremonial, nothing is said of rings ; and this is presumptive evidence, though the custom may have prevailed for some time before it was first recorded. Isidore, Bishop of Seville from A.D. 595 to 633, says in the second book of his Ecclesiastical Offices^ that the ring is given on consecration as a mark of pontifical honour and for the signing of private documents. A letter of Pope Boniface in A. D. 610" mentions the pontifical ring as attached to the episcopal dignity, and the twenty-eighth canon of the fourth Council of Toledo, held in A. D. 60^^,, decrees that a deposed bishop cannot be restored unless he receive the stole, ring, and staff again before the altar." The giving of the ring is mentioned in the sacramentary of Gregory the Great,* in the pontifical of Egbert, Archbishop of York (733-66), and in various early mediaeval services for ordination.' It seems probable that the earliest episcopal rings were usually signets ; ^" but in later times it \\ as customary to have an unengraved gem. This is stated in a decision of the Sjnod of Milan, and is borne out by the character of episcopal rings known to us ; but the words in which the decision is actually recorded are perhaps later than the seventh century. ^^ The episcopal ring, which was of gold, was at first placed upon the fourth (our third) finger of the right
' Surius, De vitis sanctorum, vi, p. 220, Venice, 1681.
* Dugdale, Hist, of the Collegiate Church of Beverley, p. 55, in .Appendix to History of St. Paul's Cathedral.
' A. du Saussay, Panoplia episcopalis, 1646, ii, p. 1S3. Another early ring is conjecturally assigned to Leudinus, Bishop of Toul, A.D. 660 or 680.
' Babington in Smith and Cheetham's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, p. 1804.
' Ch. V, § 12. ° Labbe and Cossart, Sacrosancta Concilia, v, col. 161S.
' Marriott, Vest. Christ, p. 75 ; Labbe and Cossart, as above, v, col. 1714.
' The references for this and the following data are all collected in Smith and Cheethani, p. 1806, and Cabrol, Diet. d'Arch. chretienne et de Littirgie, cols. 2182-3.
' Martene, De ant. rit. ecclesiae, i, ch. viii, art. xi, Ordo iii, Ordo v, Ordo viii, Ordo ix. Letters of Pope Nicholas I (858-67) and of Charles the Bald refer to rings of consecr;-,t;on (Leclercq, as above, col. 2183).
'" Waterton, Arch, fourn. xx. 225. For the ring of St. Arnulph of Metz see above, p. xx.
'' Caeteruni anulus episcopalis ex auro puro solide conflatus constat, cum geinvia pretiosiori in qua nihil sculpti esse debet (H. Leclercq in Cabrol, col. 2185 : Archaeologia, xxxvi, p. 397).
XX XVI
INTRODUCTION
hand, the first mention of this usage being in a letter of Hincmar (845-52),' but later it seems to have been also worn on the first finger of that hand, for which use various reasons have been alleged, one that this first finger was known to the Romans as the Index Salutaris, and was the finger raised in commanding silence."
The above facts establish the ancient use of episcopal rings in the primarj' sense of the word, those, namely, which were given at the ceremony of consecration.
Fig. 9. Hands of ax Episcopal Saint. From a picture of the Flemish School in the National Gallerj- : 'A Count of Hennegau and his patron Saints.'
But we must distinguish such rings from others worn by bishops in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These are all described as pontifical rings in in\entories ; ^ and we can only conjecture which the real ring is by its position. Early pictures show bishops wearing numerous rings over their gloves (figs. JO, 11), and probably all of these would be described as 'pontificals'. Rings were worn both on fingers and thumbs when singing High Mass,* and the episcopal glove being rather thick, they had to be of large size. It seems possible that such rings were kept in cathedrals, to be used when required.'
It was the usage upon the death of a bishop for his ring, presumably the consecration ring, to be handed over to the royal treasure, the phrase used being liberatns (or reddiius) in garderoba. The in\-entory of 2S Edward I affords numerous examples for our own country ; the rings of the Archbishops of Canter-
' Epistolae, xxix, in Migne, Patr. Lat. c.xxvi, col. 18S. Cf. J. Kirchmann, De annulis. p. 26. It has been already noted (p. x.\viil that the thumb counted as the first of five fingers.
' G. Longus, De anulis, p. 41 ; H. Kommann, De triplici annulo, p. 15.
' Cf. J. Wickham Legg. ' On an Inventor>- of the Vestry in Westminster .A.bbey taken in 138S ' (Archaeologia, Hit, where 'glovys and pontyfycales ' are mentioned.
* D. Rock, The Church of our Fathers, ii, p. 169.
' The inventory of St. Paul's in 1445 mentions a case containing pontifical and other rings (\V. Sparrow Simpson, Si. P<turs Cathedral and Old City Life, p. 43). For a similar case at Canterbury see]. Dart, I/ist. and Antiq. of the Cathedral Church of Canterbury, .\ppendix, p. xiii.
INTKOUUCTION XXXVII
bury, York, and Dublin, and llic Bishops of Salisbury, Bath and Wells, and ICxeter, and of the Abbot of Abingdon, are all mentioned.' The same usage prevailed in other countries. The inventory of Charles V of I'rance includes eight anneaidx pontificaitlx a prclatr The F-mperor had from early years claimed the same right.^ But the return of the ring can hardly have been rigorously enforced, because rings of value, bearing all the appearance of consecration rings, have been discovered in the coffins of bishops, and were undoubtedly buried with them.* But where a ring of small intrinsic worth has been fountl in the coffin, as in the cjise of Lawrence Booth, Archbishop of York, buried in Southwell Cathedral, it may perhaps be regarded as a substitute for the real ring handed over to the royal treasury.'' On the other hand, we may note that the inventory of 16 Elizabeth, quoted below, contains a silver-gilt 'pontifrcall' set with a counterfeit sapphire, as if the monarch had been content to accept the substitute in place of the original. The Archbishops of Canterbury also claimed pontifical rings of deceased bishops," but these appear to have been the ' second best ' rings, and were accompanied by the prelate's seals.
There seems little doubt that the correct stone for the true episcopal ring was the sapphire. Of English examples, the rings of three early bishops, Flambard (1099-1128), Geoffrey Rufus (1133-40), William dc St. Barbara (i 143-52), in the Durham Chapter Library, all have sapphires." So has the ring of \\'illiam of Wj'kcham, preserved at Winchester ; '* so have the fine ring of William Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1374), in the collection of Sir Arthur Evans, a ring of an unidentified bishop in the Cathedral of Chichester,^ and that of Bishop John Stanbery of Hereford (d. 1474)."' Among the bishops' rings in the inventory of 28 Edward I already quoted, those of the Archbishops of Dublin and York, and of the Bishops of Salisbury and St. Asaph, have sapphires.^^ The rings of the Bishops of Bath and Wells and the Abbot of Abingdon, both with sapphires, were among the jewels taken with Piers Gaveston.^^ Archbishop
' Liber quotidianus contrarotulalorius, !^c., 2S Edward /, pp. 3^4-5, 348 (published by the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1787).
- J. Labarte, Inventaire, iScc, p. 136.
^ Kirchmann, De aiinidis, ch. xx, p. 183. The ring had played its part in the great struggle for the right of investiture between the popes and emperors, investiture being per annuhtm (or virgam) ct baculitm (cf. Sigebert, Chronicle, year MCXI ; William of Malmesbury, Gest. Reg. Aiigl. ii, § 202). The different stages of the quarrel are concisely given by Kirchmann. See also Smith and Cheethani, Dictionary 0/ Christian Antiquities, s. v. Investiture.
■* Instances are quoted by W. Jones, Finger-ring Lore, p. 203.
° Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, 2nd series, viii, p. 243.
" Arch. Journal, xi, pp. 274 ff. ' Archaeologia, xlv, p. 387.
** Exhibited with other episcopal rings by the Dean of Winchester at the Special E.xhibition of Works of Art at South Kensington Museum in 1862 (Catalogue, p. 636).
^ Archaeological Journal, xx. p. 235. '" Ibid. p. 236.
" Liber quotidianus contrarot. pp. 344-5, 34S.
" Rymer, Focdera (1706), iii, p. 3S9.
XXXVlll INTRODUCTION
Parker's ring had a sapphire.* The ' Bague de Saint Loup ' in the Treasury of Sens Cathedral has the same gem.* The use of several stones, either of the same or of different kinds, on pontifical rings is well authenticated. Though William of Wykeham's consecration ring {sec above) was set with a sapphire, a ring which he bequeathed to his successor in his will, and described as his larger pontifical, is set with a sapphire surrounded by balas rubies.^ Several of the bishops' rings in the Edwardian inventory are described as cum rnbettis. In the inventory of 16 Elizabeth (a.d. 1574) two • pontificalls ' with divers stones are entered.* The French pontifical rings in the already cited inventory of Charles V have almost without exception a variety of stones ; one has an emerald, five balas rubies, five large pearls, and a sapphire : two have sapphires and mennes purreries ; one has a cameo with twelve pearls, two sapphires, and two emeralds ; another a large sapphire among turquoises and garnets ; two more have sapphires, emeralds, pearls, and garnets.^ The collection of Pope Paul II (Barbo) contained several pontifical rings with sapphires, mostly accompanied in the same way by other stones.'' The amethyst, as of a similar symbolism to the sapphire, appears to have sometimes replaced that stone: an example is the ring of Henry of Worcester, Abbot of Evesham (d. 1263).'' Other single stones are frequent in rings associated with mediaeval bishops, but we cannot be sure whether these rings are anything more than • pontificals ' in the extended sense of the word. The ruby is found in the ring of Archbishop Greenfield of York (d. 1315),^ and in that of Bishop Richard Mayew or ISIayo of Hereford (d. iji6).' Among the bishops' rings already mentioned as returned to the royal treasury and inventoried in the reign of Edward I, we find examples with emerald, ruby, topaz, and peridot.^" Some rings
' His inventory, dated 1577, has the following item : a linge li-ith a blewe safifhire, at iiij li. (Archaeologia, sxx, p. 27).
- Viollel-le-Duc, Dictiomiaire du Mobilierfrancais^ iii, p. 21.
' Nicolas, Testjvicnta Veiusia, ii, p. 767. The ring found in Bishop Gardiner's tomb has an oval intaglio on plasma, with a head of M inena (Catalogue of the Special Exhibition, &'c., on loan at the South Kensington Museum, 1862, no. 7197, p. 636).
* British Museum, Stone MS. 555 :
Fol. 6**. Item, oone Pontijicalle Ring of course golde with a sapher in it, and rcunde about the satne, set -liith five course smale emeraudes and V course smale gamettes . . . ponderans j OS. scant.
Fol. 25''. Item cone Pontificall of silver and guilt, liaving a counterfeit sapher in the middest and about the same iiij pearles and thre course stones . . . ponderans j os. dim.
* Labarte, p. 136.
* E. Miintz, Les Arts a la Cour des Popes, ii, pp. 187-8, and Rei-ue archiologique, N. S., sxxvi (187S), p. 205. The other stones are emeralds, garnets, and rubies, with pearls.
' Archaeologia, x.x, p. 566.
' G. A. Poole and J. Hugall, An Historical and Descriptive Guide to York Cathedra], p. 195.
' Archaeologia, x.\xi, p. 249 ; Arch. Journal, sx, p. 236.
'" Liber quotidianus, &c., as above, pp. 344-5, 348. A ring of the Bishop of Salisbury is described as cum rubetto perforato. In the Westminster inventory of 1 388 are several rings both with sapphires and red stones (J. Wickham Legg in Archaeologia, Iii, p. 199).
INTRODUCTION
XXMX
described as episcopal have no gem. The gold ring found at Charroux and associated with the name of Giraldus, l^ishop of Limoges (d. IC32), has a large qiiatiefoil bezel.'
The rings which can be regarded with any certainty as those given at consecration being at once few in number and \arious both in form and ornament, there would ai)pear to be no safe criterion by which they can be distinguished from rings worn by laymen. The sapphire was a popular stone, by no means reserved for ecclesiastical use, and the \ery variety of the attested specimens seems to show that, as far as outward appearance goes, pontifical rings were not a class apart, but followed contemporary fashions; there was no traditional form persisting century after century. Such being the uncertainty of
Fig. io. Episcopal Hands. From the ' Marriage of St. Catherine' by Lorenzo di San Severino, National Gallery.
the whole subject, it has seemed best in the Catalogue itself to make no assumptions, and to class a number of rings commonly described as ' episcopal ' or 'ecclesiastical' with the main body of ornamental rings. (Cf. nos. 1749 fif., 1827 f{.) Many of these may well have been worn by clerics, and some by bishops ; but of few could it be asserted with confidence that they are pontifical, either in the wider or the narrower sense. The large series of 'stirrup-shaped ' rings with sapphires (nos. 1782 ff.) .seem to ha\e no valid right to the title.
It will be gathered from quotations made above that certain abbots were invested with the ring, but the privilege was exceptional, and in early times disliked by bishops.^ Abbe.sses are represented on their monuments wearing rings, as for example Agnes Jordan, Abbess of the Bridgetine Convent of Syon, on her brass at Denham, Bucks."' The date when the ring was given to abbesses is not precisely known; the custom was abolished by Gregory XIII in J572.* It has been conjectured that the ring with the name of Lcubacius, in the Cathedral at Tours, may have been that of Leobatius, first abbot of the monaster}- of
' Didron, Aiiiuilts arMologiqi(es, .\, 1580.
^ Leclercq in Cabrol, col. 2186. The benediction of abbots' rings is not mentitmecl in ritual until the fifteenth century.
' H. Druitt, Costume in Brasses, p. 98. * Leclercq, col. 2187.
xl INTRODUCTION
Senaparia' (Seiinevieres, Indre-et-Loiic), but the style of the ornament seems rather too late to justify the attribution. Nuns were symbolically espoused to Christ by a ring,- and the Museum possesses an example (no. 712). These appear to have been sometimes set with gems, and, as we should expect, with the sapphire.-' Widows sometimes inherited property from their husbands on condition of taking a vow of chastity, and assumed a mantle and a ring.^ Any cleric might wear a ring, and from documentary evidence it is clear that the clergy often possessed more than one ring of value. But no one beneath the rank of bishop (or, in later centuries, of abbot) wore a ring as indication of rank or sacred office. ' We ma\- note, however, that in the archdeaconry' of Chester, on the death of a priest, his best horse, saddle, bridle, bit, and spurs, and his best signet or ring, passed into the possession of the bishop as archdeacon.^ Both bishops and clerics of lower rank sometimes recei\ed bequests of rings. By the will of Martin de Sancta Cruce, dated A. D. 1259, rings are bequeathed to the Arch- bishop of York, the Bishops of Durham, Norwich, and Chester, the Dean and residential canons of York, and the \'icar of Auckland." Papal If episcopal rings still present difficulties, the so-called papal rings (nos. 832 ff.)
rings. are even more perplexing. These, it will be remembered, are massive, sometimes
even ponderous rings, bearing arms or names of popes, cardinals, archbishops, and sometimes bishops, with accessories such as the papal tiara, the crossed keys, cardinals' hats, mitres, and very frequently the symbols of the Evangelists. The salient fact about all these rings is their small intrinsic value ; they are all of gilt bronze, and set either with glass pastes or inferior stones.* In view of the very considerable number of these rings, their undoubted authenticity,^ and their
' Deloche, Essctc hist, ei aixh. sur /es <iiineiiui-, 1900, p. 4^.
- An allusion in a sermon of St. Ambrose possibly implies that in his time a ring was given to nuns on the day of their consecration. He says : Hinc est quod anulo fidei Agnes se asserit subauratam (Sermon xlviii, in Migne, PiUr. Lat. xvii, coL 701). Pontificals from 1200 onwards mention the ring in the ceremony of consecration (Leclercqin Cabrol, col. 2188).
' Liber quotidianus contrarotulatorius, ^c, 2S Edward I, p. 34S : Units anulus auri par-^'us cum saphiro qui fuit de anulis fro7'ii pro Monialibus de Ambresbury contra earundem professionem.
* Cf. the will of William Edlington, of Castle Carlton, June 11, 1466 (F. J. SneU, The Customs of Old England, p. 17); in other wills the portion of a widow refusing the condition is reduced.
= Mart^ne, De antiquis ecclesiae ritibus, iii, ch. .\ii, n. 11 : Episcopus debet habere annulum quia spcnsus est. Caeteri sacerdotes non, quia sponsi ticn sunt, sed amid sponsi, vel I'icarii.
' Arch. Journal. 1854, p. 273.
' Surtees Society, Wills and Inventories, 1S35, p. 7: Item Domino Eboracensi annulum mcum cum rubeto majori. . . . Item Domino Dunelmensi annulum cum saphyr nuijori. . . . Item anuli capiantur de melioribus existentibus Eboraci et denlur Dominis Korwycensi ct Karleolensi episcopis. . . . Item Decano Eboracensi et singulis canonicis resideiuiam fcuientibus unum annulum auri cum saphir" ponderis circa x vel xij denariorum. Item domino Roberto Vicario de Aucland unum annulum auri.
* Proc. Soc. Antiquaries 0/ London, 1st series, iv, p. 230 ; 2nd series, ii, p. 431 ; xi, p. 70.
* They are most unlikely to have been fabricated for the deception of collectors as early as
INTRODUCTION
xH
association with the late mfdiac\al centuries of wliich records arc abundant, it is curious that there seems to be no certain knowledge as to their origin or use. The theory which finds most acceptance describes them as rings of investiture, and supposes that they were transmitted to new holders of papal fiefs or high offices in the Church on accession to their new dignity. One difficulty in this view lies in the fact that many of the rings were evidently made for dignitaries who either were never popes or were elected at a time later than that of the manufacture of the ring; we should therefore ha\c to suppose that the cardinal and the bishop
Fk;. u. Hands. From liotticini's '.St. Jerome with St. Damasus and other .Saints', National Gallery.
shared with the pope the custom of in\esting by ring. According to another hypothesis, they were carried as credentials by ambassadors or minor envoys, much as a King's Messenger carries a badge ; but there is no proof of this, and smaller rings would certainly have been more con\cnient.^
Amid so much that is uncertain, one thing seems clear, that these rings cannot have been worn by the popes themsehes. It is impossible to believe that the .sovereign pontiff ever wore such cheap and cumbrous ornaments ; and though in portraits of individual popes, as for example Raphael's Julius II in the National
A.D. 1494, when one is mentioned in the Este inventory: Uno annello di ottone dorato cum vedro rosso quadro grande ligato dentro mm la mitra ct chiave et quatro Evangelisti diti/ortw tagliati (G. Campori, Raccolia di Cataloghi ed Invenlarii inediti, p. 27, Modena, 1 870). Cf. also one of Pins II figured and described by J. Chifflet, Aiiniihis pfltttificius Pio II asscrtiis. Chifflet assumes the ring to have been worn by the Pope, and says : aintuhis csl iijgens (xlieiieus inaitratus gemma meliore digito Pii Fapae II /actus prctiosio}-.
' The occurrence of the arms of European kingdoins as well as those of the Pope (for example, rings of Paul II bear the arms of France and .\ragon) perhaps suggested this idea, the second arms being assumed to be those of the kingdom to which the envoy was accredited.
Xlll INTRODUCTION
Gallery, rings of considerable size are worn (fig. 12), they are evidently of a different character from those under consideration. Moreover, numerous duplicates exist, notably in the case of Pius II (Piccolomini) and Paul II (Barbo). Personal use by the Pope is therefore for every reason excluded.' The same may probabl}' be said with regard to the use of such rings by cardinals. There is no doubt that it was the custom for the Pope to present a ring to each cardinal on his consecration. The Ordo Romanus XIV (about A. D. 1300) states that the rings were given at the close of the Consistory. But we know that these were rings of value, usually containing costly sapphires," as appears from the accounts of the distribution by Eugenius IV. at the promotion of A. D. 1439. The assumption that any of the existing ' papal rings ' were used for this purpose certainly requires confirmation. Cavaliere G. Zippel states that during the. pontificate of Paul II, at any rate, the accounts of the Camera Apostolica have no entries of disbursements in relation to rings of this type." There is a well- known instance in which a Pope sent a ring as a sign of investiture, but the date was earlier than that of the ' papal ring ', and the intrinsic value of the gift far greater. This was when Pope Hadrian recognized Henry II of England as King of Ireland, the incident being related by John of Salisbury.* During the period of tension between Empire and Papacy an anti-pope was once himself invested by an emperor. A letter of Arnulph to the archbishops and bishops of England relates that Victor XI suffered this indignity at the hands of Frederic Barbarossa, and a rescript of Pope Alexander complains of the act as an outrage unparalleled in history.^ In connexion with papal rings may be mentioned rings of a somewhat similar character, bearing crowns or shields of arms, and con- jectured to be rings of investiture issued by kings or dukes (nos. 1690, 1691).
AMULET-RINGS
Rings The charm-ring of the Christian era was held in the same respect as that of
^ more ancient periods. By virtue of the legends or figures engraved upon it,
of the metal forming its hoop, or of the stone or other substance with which
' For the gold ' ring of the fisherman ', a signet engraved on the bezel with St. Peter in a boat with a net, and reproduced for each Pope, see E. Waterton, Archaeologia, xl, p. 138.
^ E. .Muntz, Les Arts a In Cour ties Papes pendunt les XV fl XVI' siedes, i, 187S, p. 54, "1 P- 3'3 ; Martfene, De antiq. eccl. rit. i, c. viii, § xi. Prior to the sixteenth centurj' cardinals were in the habit of wearing numerous rings ; later it became customarj' to wear only one.
' ' Id posso soltanto assicuraria, che nei libri di conto della Camera apostolica durante il pontificato di I'aolo 11 non si trova nessuna nota di pagamento per oggetti simili a quclli che Ella sta illustrando' (Letter, May 24, 1911).
* Bk. IV: Concessit et dedit Hyberniam jure hereditaria possiiiendum. . . . Annuliiiii guogiie per me transmisil aureuiii, smaragdo optima decoratum, quofieret itwestitura juris in gerendd Hyhernia. Idemque adhuc annulus iti ciirali archio publico custodiri jussus est. Quoted by Kirchmann, De annulis, pp. 196-7, who cites other instances.
'^ A seculis inauditum (Kirchmann, as abo\e, pp. 193-4).
INTRODUCTION xliii
it was set, it was expected to avert from the wearer perils by sea and land, to carry him safely past enemies and robbers, and preserve him from pestilence or sudden death. The faiih reposed in these amulets was absolute, and those who relied upon them doubtless accepted without reserve such a tale as that in the Mortc d' Arthur, in which a magic ring enables Sir Gareth to baftle all comers in the tourney by changing the colour of his arms at will. The Gnostics,' whose gems were often worn in the Middle Ages, handed down to later times much of their peculiar belief in the efficacy of ' words of power ' ; and superstitions of this kind, augmented from cabalistic and other Oriental sources, found their final expression in magical treatises like those of Cornelius Agrippa and other occult philosophers of the Renaissance and the seventeenth century.
The old superstitious belief in the mysterious qualities of gems is manifested Qualities in numerous mediaeval treatises from which later writers derived their information." of gems. The finer and more poetical ideas of religious symbolism are here confounded with the crudities of mere superstition. All arc familiar with the belief that the sapphire, the colour of the Virgin and of the heavens, preserved the chastity of the wearer : but the same virtue was attributed to the emerald and the green jasper,^ and similar beliefs were extended to other gems. We may take an example from the Bestiary, which derived its petrology, like its other science, indirectly from Pliny and other ancient writers. The diamond is there described as a stone found upon a mount in the East, and shedding round it a great light at night ; it is a symbol of Our Lord, and like other stones has the power of counter- acting poison.^ The lore of gems was, however, not always incorporated in the book of symbolic beasts ; it formed the subject of regular ' lapidaries ' composed upon similar lines, and suggested by the translation into French in the twelfth century of the poem by Marbodius, Bishop of Rennes, on precious stones.' Their lessons were transmitted to later times bj' writers like Jerome Cardan," from whom a few typical statements may be extracted to illustrate the superstitions of his day. Gems suffer sickness, age, and death. The h\-acinth (? jacinth) protects from lightning, induces slumber, increases riches, and makes glad the heart of man. The turquoise will preserve in a fall from horseback. The emerald, like other stones, is an antidote to poison ; placed under the tongue, it confers divinatory
' C. W. King, The Gnostics and their Remains, 1864.
'' e.g. Licetus, Dc aniilis, pp. 77, 93, &c. ; De Boodt, Historia Gemmarum ; Camillus Leonard!, Specnlicm lapidum, 1502. ' Archiuolooia, xxi, p. 126.
Alcons dient del diainant
Qu'il est centre veniin fioissant
Et gn'il chace vaines poors j
Ne que Part des enchanteors
Ne devreit celiii enchanter
Qui ceste pire salt porter. (Bestiaire rime ; Cahier and Martin, Mi'langes d\ircheologie, iv, p. 66.) ^ Gaston Paris, Litterature francaise ati inoyen Age, 3rd edition, 1905, p. 158. * De Subtilitate, Book vii. Cardan died about 1576.
xliv
INTRODUCTION
powers. The amethyst excites dreams ; the onyx stimulates the mind ; the carbuncle inspirits ; the jasper stops bleeding at the nose ; the sapphire will cure the bite of snakes and scorpions. It will be seen that there is no end to the virtues ascribed to various gems, and that even after the Middle Ages magic con- tinued to walk hand in hand with medicine. As an example illustrating the pertinacity of particular beliefs we may cite the use of gems and rings for affections of the eyes. Water in which the ring of Leodegar, Bishop of Autun, had been immersed was held to be thus remedial : ' the thirteenth-centur>' inventory of St. Paul's, already quoted, states that a merchant presented to the shrine of
Fig. 12. H.\NDS OF Pope Julus II. From the portrait by Raphael in the National Gallerj'.
St. Erkenwald a sapphire renowned for its salutary influence in this respect ; and in Webster's DucJicss of Malfy allusion is made to the application of a ring as a remedy for sore eyes.- Sometimes the virtue lay less in the nature of the gem than in the association of a ring with a venerated person. Thus the ring of Edward the Confessor, to which allusion has already been made, is said to have long been preserved at Westminster, and employed as a remedy for epilepsy. ■* This may have suggested the first use of the Cramp Rings blessed at a special consecration service from the reign of Edward III, and deriving their mysterious power from contact with the royal hands.*
• Martyrolcgiuin Gallicanum, October 2. = Act I, Sc. i.
' Polydore Vergil, Hist. Angl. Bk. viii. Cf. p. xv, n. I above.
* Of these rings, which were probably plain hoops of silver and gold, no authentic examples sur^■ive ; their consecration was discontinued by Henry VIII, but for a time revived by Queen Marj'. See Notes and Queries, ser. I, vii, p. 88, and the references there given. Rings of less august association have been worn as remedies for cramp and fits down to modem times. In ihe nineteenth centurj-a plumber of Salisbury-, questioned as to the lead rings on both his hands, replied that they were for the cure of fits, and that to secure their efficacy, the lead had to be cut from a coffin at exact full moon [Notes and (Jueries, Sth series, ix, p. 357. Cf. also ibid. pp. 127, 253). For similar superstitions in ancient times cf. F. H. Marshall, Catalogue, as above, p. xxii.
INTRODUCTION xlv
The nature of the intaglio design cut in the stone was naturally held to affect Figures its powers. The ordinary subjects upon antique gems received from mediaeval ^. '".' fancy a meaning and a potenc)* far from the thought of those who first engraved them. An interesting thirteenth-century MS. in the British Museum, entitled Di- Siii/pturis lapidiivi} tells that the figure of Pegasus encourages boldness and swiftness; Andromeda conciliates lovers ; Hercules is a singular defence to com- batants : Perseus preserves from lightning and from devils ; a Siren cut in jacinth renders invisible ; a hare defends against the devil ; a dog and lion on the same stone avert the dropsy. The significance of early engraved gems in the Middle Ages is a subject which still offers possibilities of research. ^ The magical inscriptions in most general favour are largely of Hebraic origin, derived from cabalistic sources, the popular formulae remaining in use from the Romanesque age to the seventeenth century and later. These are for the most part without obvious sense to the uninitiated, the corruption of the words having in many cases gone too far for anything but a tentative reconstruction.' But others of Greek derivation are less far removed from their original ; ■* while parts of texts from the Vulgate," or invocations to sacred persons and saints, or simply their names, present no further difficulty. The names of the Magi, or Three Kings of Cologne, deserve especial mention as efficacious against the falling sickness and other maladies (nos. 885 ff.).'^ ' Sigils ' and astrological signs were naturally used in addition to verbal texts (cf. no. <S94), the nature of the metal and its affinity with particular planets also coming into play.
The Collection contains a good series of rings set with toadstones." According Toad- to an ancient superstition, there was in the head of the toad a stone which was stones, considered a remedy against many afflictions, from tumours to bewitchments. The allusion in As Yon Like It is too familiar to quote, but may be mentioned to
^ Harley MS. 80. This Latin MS. is printed in Archaeologia (xxx, p. 449). In the same volume is an early French lapidary entitled : Le livre Techel ties philosoplies et des Indois et dit cstie des enfans d'' Israel, Dicntion Jaisaiit de plusieurs pierres ptecieiiscs et de terns 7'erius et proprietcs.
• F. de llely. Revue de PArt chretien, 1S93, pp. 14, 98.
^ A few of the most popular words and formulae— ^^Ar, Ammizapta, Te/ragramiiiaton, Tebal Cut Gutiani, &c. — occur on rings in the Collection and are there discussed (nos. 868 ff.).
On the general subject see C. W. King, Antique Gents and Rings, p. 376, and articles in the Arcliaeological Journal , xxvi, p. 225 ; O. Morgan, Proc. Soc. Antiquaries cf London, 1st series, iv, p. 87 ; Archaeologia, xxx, 449, 451, 454.
* e. g. Agios o Theos, &c. (no. S92).
° e. g. lesus autem transiens (nos. 877 fT.), and Verbum caro factum est (no. S95). The first formula was supposed to extricate from the hands of enemies and dangers, and, as mentioned under no. 877, was chosen by Edward III to commemornte the battle of Sluys.
' For a ring with a sapphire engraved with the Three Kings, bequeathed in the 14th century by Sir John de Foxle, see Arch. Journ. xv, p. 274.
' Sir V.a.y Ls.nkeiX.&[, Recreations of a Naturalist, 1911 ; Jones, Finger-ring Lore, pp. 156-8; Notes and Queries, 4th series, 1871, pp. 399, 484, 540. From its supposed origin, the loadstone was called crapaudina, crapaudine, or bufonius lapis.
d
xl
VI
INTRODUCTION
illustrate the fact that Shakespeare may well have himself believed the story to which he alludes. It may be doubted whether he would have accepted all the fictions current on the same subject, as that the toad, if placed on a red cloth, would eiect his stone; or that if a doubtful specimen were set before a toad, he would disregard it, whereas he would seize upon a genuine example, ■ for he envieth much that man should have that stone '.' It was supposed that the stone could be cut out of the toad's head with a knife, and in a treatise of about 1490, called Hortus Sanitatis, a man is shown performing the operation. Faith in the toad- stone lasted to modern times, and refer- ence is always made in this connexion to a letter of Joanna Baillie, in which she tells Sir Walter Scott how a toadstone belonging to her mother had been re- peatedly borrowed for the protection against fairies of new-born children and their mothers. It is hardly necessary to say that there is no truth in these old beliefs. No toad carries a jewel in his head, and the so-called toadstone, which is of a drab colour and of a convex polished surface, is really the palatal tooth of a fossil fish called Lepidotus. common in the oolitic and wealden strata of England. Originally white, it derives its colour from staining, due to the rocks in which it is embedded. It has been conjectured that the fancies related above may have themselves to the fertile
Fig. 13. Kings under Slit Gloves. After the picture of 'Judith with the Head of Holofemes ', by Cranach the elder.
suggested
imagination of the IMiddle Ages through Pliny's mention of a stone called Batra- chites, a name probably given because the colour suggested that of a toad. Through one of the strange processes by which the mediaeval mind associated its ideas, the story of the stone in the toad's head was evolved to satisfy the general desire for the marvellous.
Of other substances embodied in rings for proph\-lactic purposes ass's hoof
may here be noticed (cf no. 907). This substance was considered a remedy
against epilepsy,'- and a ring in the Waterton Collection is of double potency in
that it has ass's hoof in the hoop and a toadstone in the bezel.
'Inscribed' A small group of rings bearing mottoes and inscriptions of indeterminate
rings. character has been placed in a separate class under the title of inscribed rings.
' Lupton, ./4 Thousand Notable Things of Sundry Sortes, London, 1595. - Reichelt, De amuUtis, p. 20; cf. C. \V. King, Antique Gems and Rings, p. 374 : Proc. Soc. Antiquaries 0/ London, 2nd series, i, p. 27S ; ii, pp. 183, 229.
INTRODUCTION xlvii
Sonic of these legends are merely sententious (e.g. iios. yi", 929, 9:56, 9.")i); others are probably New Year's wishes (nos. 940, 941); others may be magical, others religious, others amatory, but in these cases there is usually room for doubt.
LOVE AND MARRIAGE RINGS
The love-rings in the Collection arc naturally numerous, and the number is'Fede' really greater than would at first appear, since many rings which from their type or ^^^ 'posy' the nature of the subjects engraved on them were probably made for otiier uses, ha\e been transformed into love-rings by the addition of amatory mottoes, such as >//o// caitr avcz ov per hon amor.
The most extensive subdi\isions of love-rings are the groups known as Fede and Posy rings. F^iV-rings (nos. IC02 ff.) received their name from the two hands clasped in troth, which they alwa}-s have in a conspicuous position ; the type descends from Roman timcs.^ Sometimes it happens that a/tv/^-ring bears a religious or magical inscription, and examples of this kind afford yet another instance of the difficulty of classifj-ing rings, for it is not easy to say with certainty which has the most significance, the general type or an inscription which may be somewhat incongruous with it. The posy-x'm<g (cf. no. 1107) derives its name from the 'poesy' or motto, usually a rhymed couplet, engraved on the inner side. In the abstract, any ring bearing a motto or verse of an amatory nature may be regarded as a posy-ring : but the term is commonly restricted to the plain rings which enjoyed such popularity in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The references given in the note preceding no. 1 107 will introduce the reader to the literature of the subject, which it is not necessary to repeat in the present place. The poetr}' of posy-rings, as will be seen from the examples in the Catalogue, is unassuming and often naive in style ; the mottoes on love-rings of earlier date often eclipse them, if not in sincerity, at least in the manner of expression. Attention may be called to the Godstow ring, which sentiment would fain associate with Fair Rosamund (no. 962) ; to the rings with the direct old motto, autre iie vciix (nos. 966, 967 ; to the frank English declaration, have licart and al (no. 982) ; and the cautious Italian, amove vol fe (no. 986).
Another type of love-ring is the gimmel or gimmal, made of two hoops Gimmel- fitting closely together, and capable of division if required : the name is derived rings, from the Latin gemellus fa twin).- It does not appear that the gimmel was always, or even often, actually divided, eacli lover wearing a half, though such
' The orijjin of the design was the dcxtrartiiit jimctio. See Y. H. Marshall, Catalogue, as above, p. xxii.
^ The stock quotations for gimmel-rings are from Dryden's Don Sebas/iun, where one with the names of Juan and Zayda is described, and Herrick"s Hfspcridcs, where a ' ring of jimmals' is mentioned, though, in detiance of etymology, it is said to indicate 'a triple tye '. The term gimmel was used for any appliance in which two rings of metal work in each other, for instance a bit (cf. Henry V, Act iv, Sc. 2).
Cl 2
xlviii INTRODUCTION
would be its natural destination. In the case of most rings described under this title the two hoops work into each other, but can only be divided by being cut ; moreover, the sharpness of the edges would make the sundered halves very uncomfortable to wear. Xos. 99c, 991, are good examples of this type, bearing in Latin and German the text usually found where an inscription is added. A ring said to have belonged to the great merchant Sir Thomas Gresham, temporarih" deposited at South Kensington, is in the same style.^
Wedding- The majority of the rings in Class G are either betrothal or love rings.
rings. Among them may be many which have been used in the marriage ceremony,
but it is not easy to distinguish these, for, down to the sixteenth century at least. wedding-rings were apparently set with gems, the plain hoop not being introduced until a later period. Mr. Waterton, who collected various facts about the wedding-ring, derived from a will of 1503 the information that at that time it might be set with a stone, for the testatrix, one Marion Chambers of Bury St. Edmunds, describes her ' marying ring ' as ' having a dyamond and ruble therein '.- The wedding-ring of Martin Luther is said to have borne a Crucifixion and the emblems of the Passion.^ The plain ring may have been introduced about the time of the Commonwealth, when some of the sterner spirits were in favour of its total abolition. The third finger of each hand has always been used for rings, and that of the left hand for the wedding-ring, partU^ because it is there unlikely to be damaged or worn, but partly also from the old super- stition, possibly based on an ancient Egyptian belief, that a vein ran from the heart to this finger. The belief is mentioned by Aulus Gellius and Macrobius ; * but the point which interests us here is its survival through the Middle Ages into the seventeenth century. Li the Salisbury and Hereford missals it is directed that the ring, after being first temporarily passed over the second and third fingers, shall lastly be placed on the fourth,-' there to remain quia in illo digito est qtiacdam -vena proccdcns tisqiic ad cor'' The old belief survived later, though soon destined to be condemned by the advance of anatomical knowledge." Henrj' Swinburne, in his Treatise of Spoiisals, written about A. D. 1600, but printed later in the century, repeats that the marriage-ring is worn on the fourth finger ' because, by the received opinion of the learned and experienced in Ripping up and anatomizing men's Bodies, there is a vein of Blood which passeth from that fourth finger unto the Heart, called Vena Amoris, Love's \'ein. And
' See note under no. 991.
' Waterton MS., Dactyliotheca Waterloniana (in the Librar>' of the Victoria and .\lbert Museum), p. 96.
' Joiirn. Brit. Arch. Assoc, x, p. 375.
* .-Vulus Gellius, Miscell. x, ch. 10; Macrobius, Saiiiriuil. vii, ch. 13.
' .As already obser\ed, the fourth finger of the early writers corresponds to our third.
• Notes anii Queries, 5th series, xii (1S79), p. 40S.
' Sir Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errors, i (iS52f, p. 390; J. Kirchmann, Dc annulis, p. 23, who describes the opinion as exploded.
INTRODUCTION xlix
so the wearing of the Ring on that finger significth that the love should not be vain or fained, but that as they did give their hands eacli to other, so likewise they should give their hearts also, whereunto that vein is extended.''
Jewish niarriagc-rings, well represented in the Collection, are obviously not Jewish intended for permanent wear ; their large size and inconvenient forms would ""'i^SS. alone disqualify most of ihcni for everyday use. In fact they were only placed by bridegrooms upon the fingers of brides during the ceremony, and are therefore purelj' sj'mbolical, as indeed the figure-subjects, where such occur, would themselves imply. There does not seem to be unanimity of opinion as to whether the gabled building, which in many rings projects as a bezel, represents Solomon's temple, or a synagogue ; the w riter in the Jeivish Encyclopaedia inclines to the latter supposition." Jewish marriage-rings almost invariably bear as legend, complete or abbreviated, the Hebrew words Mazzdl iob (Good luck). The better specimens are richly Fig. 14. Ring with qu.atre- ornamented with enamel and filigree in a style ^-^^ Ihe'pon^ait of' WU^^X suggesting either Venice or the South of Germany Constans of Saxony, in the Collec-
as the place, and the sixteenth century as the ^i"" f I'"-'"" ^'^°'S<= °f -''axony.
. (<-i. hg. 3.)
time, of manufacture. None of the existing
examples are said to be older than the thirteenth ccntur)', though the use of the
ring as a symbol in marriage can be traced some six centuries earlier.
The Collection contains no historical betrothal-ring like that of Mary Queen
of Scots and Darnley. This ring, found at Fotheringay and now in the Victoria
and Albert Museum,-' has on the bezel the initials M and H joined by a knot
in the style of rings illustrated on plate VIII. I'.xamples like no. 420 have
no personal association with the married pair, but arc merely commemorative
rings bought in celebration of an auspicious event.
MEMORIAL AND OFFICIAL RINGS
Among the most interesting commemorative rings are those commonly known 'Stuart' as ' Stuart rings ' (nos. 1359 ff.), from the fact that they were worn by adherents of and other the royal house of that name.'' They generally have an enamelled head or bust ^{^gg^* '
1 p. 28. Tlie book was actually printed in 1686. Sec Notes ami Qtteries, 7th series, iv, p. 2S5.
"■ Article Rings, signed .\. W. Cf. also Catalogue of the Anglo-Jewish Historieal Exhibition, nos. 1822-31 and 1949-63.
' Arch. Journal, xiv ( 1857), p. 29S. Other rings of this type with the initials WS and A.W. have been claimed as the signet and betrothal-ring of Shakespeare. The evidence is by no means so complete as in the case of the ring of JNIary Queen of Scots and Darnley, for there is no inscrip- tion engraved in the interior ; both are said to have been foimd at Stratford (Gentleman's Maga::ine, l.xxx, pp. 321-2 ; Journ. British Arch. Association, iv, p. 389).
" Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 1788, p. 769 ; July and Sept. 1823. Examples of these rings
1
INTRODUCTION
on the bezel, the most interesting being those with portraits of Charles I ; but other members of the Hne are represented — Charles II, James II. and the Old
Vic. 15. Portrait OF A Woman : School of Cranach. (After Burlington Fine Arts Club, Illustrated Catalogue of Early German Art. plate xxvi.)
Chevalier. Sometimes a Stuart ring will outwardly express loyalty to the Hanoverian djnast}' by exhibiting the portrait of the reigning monarch. But
have been shown at various exhibitions, two at the Loan E>diibition of Jeweller)- at South Kensington in 1S72 ; Catalogue, pp. 77 and 79.
For portraits of the Stuarts see the article by Miss Helen Farquhar, British Numismatic Journal, v, 1908.
INTKODL'CTION ll
this will form the lid of a locket, which when opened is found to contain portraits ol the Stuarts (no. 1372). Similar arrangements arc found in other objects carried b\- Jacobites, for example in snuff-boxes.^ Of especial interest in relation to the Jacobite cause are two almost iilentical rings (nos. 1417, J4'^). surviving examples of a scries made to commemorate the death of Lords Balmerino, Kilmarnock, Lovat, and Derwentwater, and others, executed in 1746 and 1747 for their connexicjn with 'the '45'; and the signet (no. 652) with the cipher of the Old Chc\-alier {Jacc/'i/s Rex) cut in a sapphire. Among other portrait-rings may bo mentioned nos. 1376, 1377, with William III and Mary ; and no. 1387, with William IV, enamelled by Henry Bone, R.A. : the greater number represent unidentified persons. Of rings commemorating events, those connected with Polish history have a peculiar interest (nos. 1426 ff.). A romantic association would attach to no. 1424, were the story told of it susceptible of proof.
Numerically the most important among memorial rings arc those worn in Mourning- memory of the dead. These may be divided into two cla.sses ; those which were rings, not specially made for the purpose, but perhaps belonged to the deceased and were bequeathed as mementoes ; and mourning-rings proper, intended for distribution among relatives and friends. The custom of leaving a ring for remembrance probably represents a ver\' earh' form of bequest, and any ring so bequeathed is in a sense memorial; one instance of the thirteenth century has been already quoted in which rings are left to a number of clerics. The bequest ol a ring ' for a token ', or of money for the purchase of one, becomes a frequent feature of wills in the sixteenth century, though the engraving of the deceased's name or initials, the feature which constitutes the mourning-ring strictly so called, does not seem to become general until after .\. Ii. 1600.- A transition
' Joiirn. Brit. Arch. Assoc. .Nxvii, p. 379.
- Bequests of rings mentioned in the wills published by the Surtees Society may be taken as typical. In vol. ii (1835) we find (p. 74) the following item, in the will of Elizabeth, Lady Fitzhugh, dated A. D. 1427: Als so I wyl vat my son William have a Ryng i\.'ith a dyamond. . . . On p. 161, in the will of Robert Hyndmer, a.d. 1558: I geve to the said Rattfe . . . a gold ringe with a reade seale of an Imaige. p. 234, in the will of John Horton, 1565 : Itetn, I give unto my brother Anthony Horton, for a token, my golde ringe w"' the seale of niyne armes, desirenge him to be good to my wiffe and my chitdringe as my trust is in him. Also I give to the right honourable and my singular good Lord the Lord E-werye for a token, one golde ringe 70"' a turkes in itt, desyringe him to be good Lord and ff rend unto my li'iffc and childringe. . . . Other bequests of rings in this volume w^ill be found on pp. 84^ S7. 295. 328, 3S5, 416. In vol. xxxviii (i860), p. 224, we may note the bequest by James Carre in 1593 of eight gold rings, one of w-hich had been given him by the King of Scots. Other bequests in the volume are on pp. 16, 36, 51, 117, 162, 321, 326. In vol. cxii (1906) we find in the will of Bertram Anderson, 1 570-1 : I give to my said mother-in-lawe Mrs. Isabell Franckiynge, for a token of my assured good ivill toward her, one goude ring. ... In the will of Thomas Harrison, 15S2: To my sonne fohn Harrison ico /. and my gould ringe for a token, which xveigheth an ounce, and my blessing withal. In the will of Jasper Bowdon, 1589 : to Barbarye Anderson, on gold ringe, in hope she wil not se my daughter Elionor and the rcsle of my children lackc. Other bequests are on pp. 9, 16, 61, 67, 83, 125. 130, 151.
lii INTRODUCTION
towards the conventional or ceremonial memento may be found in rings of which the testator himself chose the device, ordering several in duplicate for presentation to friends. Such are those left by Sir John Shaw, alderman of London, who in his will of A.I). 1487 directed sixteen rings of fine gold to be made and graven with the Wounds of Our Lord for presentation to his friends, the rings probably resembling two of similar date in the British Museum (nos. 718, 719).' The memorial rings designed by John Donne have been already mentioned, but we may notice in the same connexion the following clause in Sir Henry Wotton's will dated October i, 1637 : ' to each of the Fellows (of Eton College), a plain ring of gold enamelled black, all save the verge, with this motto within, Amor unit omnia.' "
Throughout the eighteenth century the wearing of mourning-rings was general in England, and among literarj' references to the custom none are more interesting than those in Richardson's Clarissa Harlo-we, for though we are dealing with a work of fiction, surviving rings show that the novelist described a familiar contemporary usage. It will be remembered that several mourning- rings are mentioned in the heroine's will, and we maj' specially note the following passage : ' to Lady Betty Lawrance, Lady Sarah Sadleir, Lord M., Miss Charlotte and ^liss Martha Montague, each an enamelled ring with a cypher CI. H., with my hair in crystal.' '' The universalit}^ of the custom of wearing mourning-rings at this period is attested by another passage in the same novel. Lovelace, referring to Belton's death in a letter to Belford, writes : ' When I come to town . . . we will buy each a ring to wear in memory of the honest fellow.' Mourning-rings were sometimes engraved with allusive legends or mottoes, in this resembling ' posy-rings '. Examples were the rings said to have been worn by the King's party after the execution in 1658 of Dr. John Hewett, chaplain to Charles I, engraved: Herodes ncctiit Johannein}
The line of division between Memento Mori rings (sec p. xxxiii) and mourning- rings is not easily drawn, for when a name and date are found engraved in the interior, the ring may be regarded as belonging to the memorial class. This
' A'otes and Queries, 9th series, xi, 1903, p. 30S.
- Izaak Walton, Lives of John Donne, Hetiry IVoiton, and Richard Hooker, p. 191 (Temple Classics).
" The considerable value of the more expensive niouming-rings in the eighteenth centur>% evidently those set with gems, is shown by other bequests in the same will. 'To my aunt, Mrs. Dorothy Her\'ey, I bequeath fifty guineas for a ring ' : other rings of the value of twenty-five and twenty guineas are also mentioned. The symbolic devices which Clarissa caused to be placed on her coffin-plate are of interest, in that they are also familiar to us from mourning-rings : at the top was to be an hour-glass, winged, at the bottom an um. The wings accompanying the hour-glass are represented on rings in the Collection (nos. 1529 fl.).
' A'o/es and Queries, ser. ii, viii, 393, quoting Kenneth's Register and Chronicle, 1727, p. 373. Cf. also Notes and Queries, as above, p. 466, for motto mourning-rings of .Alderman John Smith of London, and Samuel Crumbleholme, Master of St. Paul's.
INTRODUCTION
llll
distinction lias led to the separation in the Cataloj^uc of rings which are Diit- wardiy of the same type.
Rings have been worn as signs of office by persons of various ranks and Official ' positions, from kings downwards. The episcopal rings already mentioned nngs. (p. xxxiv) really come under this description. So do coronation-rings, of which the history extends to remote times and \arions countries. A ring was evidently regarded as the symbol of sovereignly in the Bj'zantine Empire, as we learn from a passage in Nicetas relating to the death of Alexius Comncnus.' The ICmpcror, as King of Germany, was invested with a ring,^ and Henry I\' on his deposition was called upon to resign the crown, the mantle, the ring, and all things pertaining to investiture with the imperial dignity.^ In our own country the corona- lion-ring goes back before the Norman Conquest, though apparently not long before ; whatever may be thought of the story related of Ofia, King of the East Angles, it is certain that the giving of a ring immediately after the anointing is mentioned in the Benedictional of Robert of Jumicges, Archbishop of Canterbury in
the last years of Edward the Confessor, and Fig. i6. Hand of ]!i:ni.dikt vox , . , . , . . , , Hertenstein. Prom a portrait by Hol-
that smce that time the principal change bein in the Metropolitan Museum, New has consisted in the translation of the Vork. (Cf. P. Ganz, Hans Holbein dcr formula from Latm into English in the time ■' -^ ' ^ '
nf James I.* It is not to be supposed that the sovereign always wore the ring; the royal inventory of 2cS Edward I, already so often quoted, 'includes the gold ring with which the King was consecrated '.'' But it was probably very carefully kept. Camden relates that Elizabeth in her last illness ordered to be cut from her finger the ring with which she had been espoused to her kingdom at her coronation, and since then never removed ; '' while Queen Victoria did not allow her coronation-ring to pass out of her own custody.' Queens consort have al\va\'s been invested with a ring in luitrland.
' John Comnenus is said to have drawn the ring from his lather's finger, and by means of it conrirmcd his succession.
■ li. Martene, Ve antiquis ecclesiac ri/iluis, ii, ch. ix, ord. iv and v.
' This is related by Sigonius, De reg. Italiac, iv, p. 89. Ste Kirchmann, Dc ajimil.'s, pp. 1 94-5.
' J. Wickham Legg, Arch. Journal, liv, 1897, pp. 4 ff.
" Liber quotidiantis, &c., as above, p. 351 : aiuiuliis nitri cum quo Jitit Rex consccratiis.
° Kirchmann, as above, p. 222.
" Arch. Journal, as above, p. I. The coronation-ring of Queen Maiy II is in the possession of the Duke of Portland. ^Ir. Wickham Lcgg reproduces this ring and those of William IV, Queen .Adelaide, and Queen \'ictoria.
liv INTRODUCTION
A bare mention must suffice for the ring conferred with other insignia on the recipient of a doctor's degree : ^ it is still given at the University of Upsala. Serjeants' Among rings commemorating an office, those of the EngHsh serjeants-at-law rings. form a familiar group.- It was the custom, from the fifteenth century, for
Serjeants, on the occasion of their call, to present gold rings to the sovereign, princes of the Blood, great officers of state and ecclesiastics, nobles, legal and other dignitaries, and personal friends, the weight and value of the rings diminishing with the rank and importance of the recipient. This usage is in manj'^ ways analogous to that by which, in the Roman and Byzantine Empires down to A. I). 540, the Consul on his election presented a carved ivorj' diptych to the Emperor and important dignitaries ; like its prototype, it involved some expense, for thin though these rings usually were, the number which it was necessary to give made the procedure costlj-. Serjeant Wynne and thirteen others, called in A. D. 1736, expended £'/'!% about ^55 each, on 1409 rings, but the average seems to have been reduced in later )-ears, since in 1809 Serjeants Peckwill and Frere spent £^^ I'js. 6d. on a total of only sixty rings.
In the nineteenth century the presentation of rings in open court ceased, and they were sent privately through the goldsmith employed to make them ; the custom came to an end even before 1S73, in which year it became unnecessary for a barrister appointed a judge to proceed first to the rank of Serjeant, and Serjeants ceased to be called.
The Serjeant's ring is a flat band of gold, usually with a moulding at top and bottom, and with a motto engraved on the outer side, almost invariably in Latin. ^ The earliest mention is of the ring of Sir John Fineux, called in 1485, whose motto was si/ac qitisqne fortnnae fabcr ; * several rings are recorded for the sixteenth centur}^ and many for the two centuries following, while examples are also numerous between iSco and 1864. Down to 1846 it was usual for Serjeants to be called in ' batches ', when it was customary, though not obligatory, for all to take the same motto.
The number of rings accumulated by the kings was naturally vcrj' great, and various stories have been circulated as to their fate ; one version states that at one time there was a drawer-full at Windsor Castle, but that all were supposed to
' E. C. Clark, Arch. Journal, i, p. 80; Kirchmann, p. 197: H. Kornemann, De otmulo tripiici, p. 40 (1672J ; Druitt, Costume in Bmsses, pp. 121-2.
- E. Foss, The Judges of England (iZs7), v,.pp. 16, 103, 2S5, 414, 417 ; vi, pp. 29, 230; vii, pp. 28 ff., 207, 301, 380; viii,pp.ii,S9, 2i6ff.,220: ix,pp.7,64, 116; VvXim%,The Order of the Coif, pp. 245-6; E. W. Brabrook, i\W« and Queries, 6th series, .\, p. 29, and Proc. Soc. Antiquaries of London, iii, p. 414. Shorter notices by various writers in Notes and Queries, 1st series, v, PP- 59. 92.- 110. 139- 181, 363 ; 2nd scries, i, p. 249: ii, p. 24; vi, p.477; 3rd series, iv, pp. 219, 252, 278, 363 ; vi, pp. 69, 117 ; 6th series, ix, pp. 446, 511; x, pp. 132, 195 : xii, pp. 226, 326.
' Sir Christopher Wray, Chief Justice, exhorting the Serjeants called in 1577, said of the ring: 'it betokeneth ther bountifullnesse ; they be round, they have no end, it showeth ther integrity.'
■* Foss, vol. V, p. 16; Notes ajid Queries, ist series, vii, p. 18S.
IXTRODUCTION Iv
have been melted' down and converted into rjold plate ; ' another, that in the Castle there are gold candlesticks, of which the stems are composed of Serjeants' rings placed one above another." There is a collection of these rings in the Temple.
Rings conferred with lands arc in a sense allied to rings of office ; they Rings of stood as symbols of privilege and duty, and were regarded as evidence of legal inves- tcnurc. Instances relating to the ICmpcrors Lothair and Henry are quoted by ^ ^''^" Kirchmann from early sources.' For our own country we may note that Richard Cteur de Lion attached his ring to a charter relating to the exchange of land in Normandy for other properties.* The attachment of rings to charters is a well-known custom of which a single example must suffice. Dugdale records that Osbert de Camera, in the twelfth century, granted certain lands to the Church, giving possession of them with his gold ring set with a ruby, and appointing that the same ring, together with his seal, should for ever be attached to the charter whereby the lands were disposed.^ In one case at least we find a tenure-horn with signet-ring attached, as if to lend it an increased validity; this is the Borstal horn by which the lands of Borstal descended for many hundred years." Nos. 1690, 1691 have been conjectured to be rings of investiture.
FANCY, ORNAMENTAL, AND PEASANT RINGS
The term ' fancy ring ' is one of somewhat wide application, but it maj' be taken Fancy to include rings characterized b)- some uncommon feature differentiating them and orna- from the ordinary classes into which rings are di\'ided. The distinguishing feature ■ ma\- owe its presence to real or imagined utilit\', as is the case with the diamond- points of nos. 1693-H. recalling the rings which formed the iiiiprcsa of Cosimo de' Medici," or with the dials and compasses (nos. 1699 ff.) ; or it may be due to a displa}- of ingenuity, such as we find in the group of puzzle-rings (nos. 1713- 26), or in Stephen Zick's Trinity ring (no. 1727) ; or, again, it may be prompted b\- the mere love of the bizarre and the eccentric (nos. 1730 ff.j. One class of ring which alwaj-s attracts popular interest is conspicuous by its absence. The Collection contains no authenticated poison-ring ; the mere possession of a locket- bezel does not suffice to lend romance to a ring perhaps intended to contain a harmless perfume.^ Fancy rings naturally overlap with the large class of
' Sir Harry Poland, K.C., was told this when making inqLiiries on the subject.
= Lady Dorothy Neville, Leaves from a Nvtebook, p)3. 247-S. ^ Dc niiriiilis, pp. 1 95-6.
* This, with other instances, is given by Jones, whose third chapter is concerned with secular investiture by the ring.
■• W. I3iigdale, History of St. Paul's, 1658. p. S.
'' Arcliaeclogia, iii, p. 16, and pi. i, fig. 2.
' \. Heiss, Les mcdailleiirs itc la Renaissance, i, p. 28 (after Paolo Gio\io).
* Condorcet is said to have killed himself with poison concealed in a ring. For the stories as to Demosthenes and Hannibal sec F. H. Marshall, Catalogue, as above p. wiii.
Ivi
IXTRODUCTIOX
Peasant rings.
ornamental rings nos. 174C-2182) which illustrates the changing taste of nearly a thousand jears.^ Reviewing this long series, we pass from the simplicit\- of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries through the graceful and more elaborate st\-les of the two centuries following, with their increasing prodigality of engraved design and growing use of enamel, to the finished designs of the Renaissance. From the early sixteenth century the cabochon gems begin to be replaced by smaller stones, now generally faceted ; the hoops tend to become more slender. and are more boldly moulded, while brilliant enamel comes into general favour.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the multiplication of gems becomes a common feature; forms which in the earlier part of the period show a falling off from the sculptural types of the Renaissance in the latter grow less clumsj' and more graceful. As the eighteenth century verges to its close, a new decadence sets in, destined to reach its lowest point under the Empire and in the Early Victorian period. It is impossible to describe in detail the \^arieties of rings which succeed each other throughout the centuries, but attention ma>- be drawn to one or two large groups, such as the ' stirrup-shaped ' type of the thirteenth century (cf. no. 1782, pi. XXIV), the late fifteenth and early sixteenth-century type in which the bezel is cut to a quatrefoil cf. figs. 2, J4, the sixteenth-century form with four 'petals' icf.no. 1937, pi. XXVI 1, the eighteenth-centurj- ' giardinetti ' rings ^cf. nos. 2126, &c.. pi. XXVIir. It is hardly necessarj' to remind the reader that for all periods comparison should be made with contemporary signets, religious, love, memorial, and other rings, many of which deser\e attention from the purely ornamental point of view.
' Peasant rings ' are of great interest, for though their intrinsic value may be small, the\' may reproduce contemporary styles, or preserve with fidelity those of a bygone age. Sometimes they illustrate the survival of old superstitions e. g. no. 2257), and contain amulets supposed to protect from various foi-ms of evil. They are widely distributed in Europe, the regions especially distinguished by tiieir use being various parts of Italy, South Germany, and Scandinavia. The greater number are love or betrothal rings, but some are dedicated to rougher use, as no. 2257a, reputed to be a Bavarian pugilist's ring.-
' The Early Christian, Byzantine, and Early Teutonic rings also include ornamental types, and for the first millennium of our era the reader is referred to these. ' Cf, E. Fontenay, Les bijoux ancicns et iiwcierrus, p. S2.
Fig. 17. Hand of a Jeweller. (.After Burlington Fine Arts Chib, llluslraled Cata- logue of Early German Art, 1 906, plate x.\x\-ii.)
IXTROnUCTIOX Ivil
ORIENTAL AND WEST AFRICAN RINGS
Of this group little can be saitl, for the OiiciUal ring as such has not yet been the subject of extensive stud)-. The ring has been worn all over the East from remote antiquity,and from very early times was especially useful as a signet, whether the characters were engraved upon a gem, or cut in the metal of the bezel. In Persia, the regions on the north-western border of India, and in Turkestan antique intaglio gems were used as seals for a great part of the first millennium, but in later times it has always been the custom of the East to rub the bezel with ink and impress it upon paper, wax being very seldom used from the Mohammedan countries on the borders of Europe to the limits of China and Japan. ThouLjh figure-subjects of a religious character do not occur upon Mohammedan rings a high proportion may be described as religious, for upon signets the name of the owner is olten accompanied by a maxim or text of a devout character. Many, in the same way, are amuletic by \ irtuc of a praj-er or formula, while the magical properties of gems are no less implicitly accepted in the ICast to-day than they were in the remote past : it is possible that the projection at the back of the hoop, so common a feature in the rings of the Nearer East, may be held to serve some prophylactic purpo-e. In the Indian area, where a rich iconography exists, devotional rings may have figures derived from the Hindu Pantheon (no. 2414). As far as the present Collection is concerned, love-rings are rare, though doubtless many rings of an ornamental character may have been made as betrothal gifts ; memorial rings in like manner are not represented. Man)- Mohammedan rings of the mediaeval period from Egypt and Western Asia ha\e a distinction of style which even excessive ornament cannot impair; those of India, Burmah, and Siam are often of high intrinsic value, profusely set with gems, and sometimes of an im- moderate splendour. We ma)' notice as of especial interest the jade bow-ring inlaid with gold and jewels dating from the Mogul period (no. 2383). The Collection contains a fine series of Javanese rings, once the propert)' of Lord Ashburnham, some of them proved by their inscriptions to go back to the twelfth century (nos. 2324 ff.) ; these also are sumptuous in their effect. A small series of Chinese rings completes the Oriental section, which would be considerably larger had it been possible to include a number of rings and fragments from India, transferred from the India Museum in 1 880, or forming part of the Ethnographical Collections.' A collection of massive gold rings illustrates the goldsmiths art of Ashanti (nos. 2501 ff.) ; the ' Zodiac ring ' (no. 2514) is a type of which numerous e.xamplcs reach Europe; they are usually supposed to be made on the Gold Coast, but are said to be offered for sale in the harbour of F"unchal, and it has been con- jectured that they are actually made in Madeira. -
' Attention may be drawn to a few ancient rcrtivian finger-rings in the .American Room, which show that the ring was worn in Peru before the Spanish Conquest. ^ Notts and Queries, 8th series, viii (1895 », ]). 271.
CATALOGUE OF FINX.ER-RIXGS
NOTE
The great majority of the rings in the present catalogue formed part of the Franks Bequest of 1897, and in the descriptions of these no date of acquisition is given : the names of the collections to which they had previouslj- belonged, where known, are inserted in brackets.
Rings for which, on the contrary, a date of acquisition is given must be understood as having been acquired at different times, and independently of the Franks Bequest : in the case of these, the names of earlier collections to which they belonged are without brackets. Where, in the case of a few old Museum possessions, the date of entry is unknown, the fact is stated.
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
A. EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE
I. Chiefly from Italy and before a.d. 600.
(a) Inscribed. {Chiefly 4t/i eeiiiiiry or ear/ier.)
1. Silver ; rounded hoop, thickest at the back, where there is a revolving bronze key. On the front is an applied oval silver bezel rudely engraved in intaglio with a fisherman seated to ;■., drawing a fish out of the water with rod and line. In the field is the inscription CALVATOP (? Salvaior) in a mixture of Greek and Latin characters irregularly placed and in part reversed.
Sec figure.
D. VI in. L. of bezel, -36 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 46. Cf. a gem in (Jarrucci, Stoyia ddP arte cris/iann, vi, pi. 477, fig. 18. On the symbol of the fisherman, sec Smith and Cheetham, Diet, of Christian Antiquities, vol. i, p. 715 ; de Rossi in Pitra, Spicilegiiim Solesinensc, p. 577; iMacarius, Hagioglypta, p. Ill, iS:c.
The shape of the hoop, characteristic of a period earlier than Christianity, and the combi- nation of two metals suggest that only the bezel is of Early Christian date.
2. Gold ring ; the hoop angular and fluted on the outer side; oval bezel set with an emerald engraved in intaglio with a fish ; at the back is a second bezel engraved in intaglio with a bird upon a tree, round which
are the letters of the name AEMILIA.
See figure.
D. I in. L. of gem, -32 in. Weight, 210 grains. Hamilton Coll. 1856.
Christian Catalogue, no. 48. Garrucci, Storia dell' arte ciistiana, vol. vi, pi. 477, fig. 22. See also de Rossi in Pitra, Spieilegiiim. Solesmense, p. 577, no. 97 ; Martigny, Les anneaux chez les premiers Chretiens, t^c, p. 17 ; Fortnum in Arch. Joiirn. x.wi (1869), p. 142,
and xxviii (1871), p. 273 ; C. \V. King, Antique Gems, ii, p. 29 ; Smith and Cheetham, ii, pp. 713 and 1792; H. Leclercq in F. Cabrol's Diet, d/arch. ehretienne, col. 2203. Uc Rpssi says of it : fuit in musaco Imolensi hilii Caesaris Ginnasii. King assigns it to the early part of the third centurj- on the analogy of the Tarsus Treasure (i, p. 344).
2 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
Gold key-ring, with wide flat hoop fluted with twelve vertical channels and ornamented above and below with a pierced scroll border. In the centre of the channels are square apertures, eleven of which have reserved in the metal one letter of the inscription MVLTIS ANNIS, while the twelfth has a leaf. The bezel is rectangular and consists of three plain hori- zontal bands, between which are the words ACCIPE DVLC IS in openwork. From the bezel rises at right angles a vertical pro- jection with the wards, a diaper of nine crosses connected by pellets : on the sides it has cable borders, on the top a pierced scroll.
See figure.
Jet ^'t c'r e'e i (■ t1
D. ro4. Weight, 190 grains. Found in Egj'pt.
Christian Catalogue, no. 49. Fortnum in Arch.Journ. .\xxi.\ (l!>72), p. 305 : Frohner, Les Musces lie France, pi. xxxviii, figs. 9 and 10 (Paris, 1873) ; H. Leclercq, as above, col. 2209.
A ring of similar type was found at Tirlemont in Belgium about 1894, and is believed to be in private possession. Cf. also a ring formerly in the Castellan! Collection, and sold in Rome in 1SS4 (Sale Catalogue, no. 928, p. 120). For rings with similar pierced inscriptions .f^^ Fortnum in Arch Jonrn. xxvi (1869), p. 141, no. 5 (gold, in Fortnum Collection now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford) ; and Arch. Journ. vii (1850), p, 191 (gold ring in the collection of the Duke of Northumberland, found near Corbridge-on-Tyne).
Bronze ; flat polygonal hoop engraved on the outer side with the sacred monogram ^ between A and CO, and legend: ARBOR! VIBAS IN CRISTO.
D. f02 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 50. For the name Arborius see de \'it, Onoinasticon. s. v.
Gold ; flat polygonal hoop engraved on the outer side with a palm-branch followed by the legend : MARFINIANVS VIVAS.
D. I "08 in. Weight, 244 grains. From Brackeland near Jiilich.
Christian Catalogue, no. 51. See Botiiier Jahrbiicher, Heft Ixxiii (1882), p. 85, note I, and Ixxiv (1882), p. 64.
Cf. two rings described by P'ortnum in Arch. Journ. xxvi (1S69), p. 140. The name Marfinianus appears to be exceptional.
Bronze; plain hoop, and oval bezel inscribed: VIVAS.
D. '86 in. L. of bezel, "52 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 52.
Silver; plain hoop expanding into an oval bezel engraved: VIBAS.
D, 74 in. Castellani Coll. 1872. Christian Catalogue, no. 53.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AM) BY/AXTINK 3
8. BKt)N/K ; flat lidop and rectangular bc/cl engraved \\ itii a reversed inscription: VIVAS IN DIO in two lines.
D. "88 in. L. of bezel, '45 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 54. Cf. bronze rin^' in the Vatican. .SVt- Fortniiin in Arch. Joiini. xxviii (1871), p. 279, no. 6.
g. Goi.i) ; octagonal hoop, narrowest at the back, the outside faceted horizontally. The bezel is flat and octagonal, with a circular medallion in low rcHef inscribed : ARGYR VIVAS.
D. "64 in. Weight, 100 grains. From Rome. Christian Catalogue, no. 58.
10. Bronze ; with plain hoop and projecting square bezel engraved with the inscription in three lines: MER'CURIjV I V.
U. i"i8 in. L. of bezel, "4 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 59.
11. Gold ; the hoop double in front, with two oval bezels, the upper inscribed BLITHI A. the lower engraved with a monogram.
D. I in. L. of bezel, "4 in. Weight, 258 grains. Castellan! Coll. 1872. /'^B^ Found at Orvieto. yk^lftSif
Christian Catalogue, no. 60. Str Fortnum in Arc/i. Jouni. xxvii ^™l!i'i (1871), p. 281, no. 2 ; Smith and Cheetham, ii, p. 1798. The name may be Blilia or Blicia ; see de Vit, Onoinas/icon, s. 7'.
Cf. a ring found in a treasure at Narona, Dalmatia, with coins of Justin I, Justinian, Justin II, and Tiberius Constantine, and a ring in the Louvre (Ntiovo Bullettino di archeoloi;ia aistiana, 1902, pp. 234 fif.). It is possible that the monogram may represent the name of Blitia's husband.
12. Bronze ; plain hoop ; bezel in the form of the sole of a shoe, engraved with the letters OER between two crosses.
D. I in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 61. On shoe-shaped ring-stamps see Fortnum in Aic/i. Jourii. xxviii (1S71), p. 289; and Rev. Arch., 1883, p. 53.
I
13. Silver; angular shoulders and pointed oval bezel engraved : -I- €YCe.
B D. '92 in. L. of bezel, '5 in. Castellani Coll. 1872.
Christian Catalogue, no. 62. For the name Eusebius, see de Vit, Oiiomasticon, s. v. The family of the Eusebii became prominent in the middle of the fourth century.
14.. SlL\'EK ; plain rounded hoop and flat oval bezel engraved with a bird to r., holding a branch in its beak.
D. '82 in. L. of bezel, '36 in. Hamilton Coll. 1S56. Christian Catalogue, no. 63.
V. 2
4 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
15. Gold : the hoop expanding to a flat bezel engraved with a palm-branch, above and below which are characters perhaps representing the words AM A ME. See figure.
D.7in. Weight, 29 grains. Found at Carlisle. (Braybroofce Coll.)
Christian Catalogue, no. 64.
16. Gold ; the hoop of plaited wire with a pearled wire along the middle, and a pair of pellets on each side of the oval bezel, which is set with a red jasper inscribed: ecOC GeOY YIOC THPei (God Son of God guard wr).
D. "34 in. Weight, 69 grains. Hamilton Coll. 1S56.
Christian Catalogue, no. 11. Cf. L. Perret, Les Catacombcs de Rome, voL iv, pi. svi, fig. 14. The style of the hoop recalls that of a Late Roman ring in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities (F. H. Marshall, Catalcguc of Finger-rings, no. 781).
{b) Uninscribed. i^tli to 6th centuries.)
17. Silver ; plain hoop expanding into a bezel on which is engraved a palm- branch.
D. 74 in. Hamilton Coll. 1S56. Christian Catalogue, no. 65.
18. Gold ; slender hoop ; flat oval bezel engraved in intaglio with a palm-branch (?).
D. of bezel, "3 in. Weight, 32 grains. (Braybrooke Coll.) Christian Catalogue, no. 66.
19. Gold ; flat hoop expanding into a bezel engraved with a palm-branch, above which rises from the edge a circular setting containing a green paste.
D. "6 in. Weight, 24 grains. Christian Catalogue, no. 67.
20. CaKXELIAX ; part of a ring cut from the solid, with flat oval bezel engraved in intaglio with a dove holding an olive-branch in its beak.
D. 75 in. L. of bezel, '34 in. Hamilton Coll. 1856.
Christian Catalogue, no. 30. See also Fortnum in An/i. Journal, xwi (1869), p. 140, note I . The greater part of the hoop is wanting.
21. Gold ; plain hoop and oval bezel, with a pair of pellets at each end, containing a sapphire engraved in intaglio with a dove holding a branch in its beak.
D. "4 in. Weight. 60 grains. 1862. Christian Catalogue, no. 31.
22. Gold ; flat octagonal hoop ; oval bezel engraved with an anchor. D. 74 in. Weight, 101 grains.
Christian Catalogue, no. 68. Cf. Re: Areh., 1883, p. 53.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE
23. Goi.l) : flat hoop and raised oval bezel engraved with a horizontal anchor.
I). 72 in. Weight, 106 grains. Castellan! Coll. 1872.
Christian Catalogue, no. 69. .SV^ Fortnuni in Aixli. Joiini. xxviii (1871), p. 281, no. i ; Smith and Cheethani, ii, p. 1795.
24. Bronze ; plain slender hoop and oval bezel engraved with a galley with si.K oars visible on one side. The mast and yard form a cross.
Plate II, roiv 4.
D. '94 in. L. of bezel, '5 in. Castellani Coll. 1872.
Christian Catalogue, no. 70, and cf. no. 40. See Fortnuni in Arch. Journ. xxviii (1S71), pp. 274 and 281, no. 6.
25. Bronze ; spirally fluted hoop and projecting circular bezel engraved with a galley to n, above which is the sacred monogram inscribed in a circle.
Plate II, roiv 4.
D. I in. D. of bezel, -5 in. Castellani Coll. 1872. Christian Catalogue, no. 71. Garrucci, Storia dell' arte aistiann, vi, pi. 478, fig. 14.
26. Bronze ; plain hoop and oval bezel .set with a red cabochon paste engraved in intaglio with the sacred monogram combined with an anchor.
D. -8 in. Given by Sir A. W. Franks, K.C.B. 1894. Christian Catalogue, no. 29.
27. Gold; hoop of triangular section ; projecting oval bezel containing a nicolo paste engraved with a composite form of the sacred monogram.
See figure.
D. r4 in. D. of bezel, 78 in. Weight, 288 grains. Payne Knight Coll. 1824.
Christian Catalogue, no. 28. See Smith and Cheet- hani, Diitioimiy of C/uistuin Antiquities, ii, p. 1793.
28. Bronze ; hoop of triangular section; flat-pointed oval bezel engraved with the sacred monogram sjt.
D. "96 in. D. of bezel, "5 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 72.
29. Bronze ; plain hoop and oval bezel engraved with the sacred monogram >p.
D. 78 in. D. of bezel, '3 in. Obtained in Rome. Christian Catalogue, no. 73.
30. Bronze; hoop of triangular section and rectangular bezel engraved with tlie sacred monogram "^ within a cable border.
D. I in. L. of bezel, "34 in.
31. Bronze signet ; plain hoop and oval bezel engraved with y^
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, '52 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 76.
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
32. Gold ; circular openwork bezel, containing the monogram -f. j/// century.
D. "9 in. D. of bezel, '4 in. Weight, 65 grains. Christian Catalogue, no. 77.
33. Gold ; octagonal faceted hoop. The bezel is an applied setting in the form of the sacred monogram -f , originally containing stones, now lost. i&Pl
See figure, ^ih century.
D. -91 in. D. of bezel, '44 in. Weight, 123 grains. Castellani Coll
1872.
Christian Catalogue, no. 78. See Fortnum in Arch.Journ. xxviii (1871), p. 2S1, no. 5 ; .Smith and Cheetham, ii, p. 1793.
34. Bronze ; the hoop expanding to flat angular shoulders, on each of which is a star. The bezel is a truncated pyramid of three steps engraved with an equal- armed cross.
D. ri6 in. L. of bezel, '32 in. From Catania, Sicily.
Christian Catalogue, no. 79. Cf. for shape, Fortnum in Arch.Journ. xxvi (1869*, p. 143.
35. Bronze ; plain hoop expanding into a narrow oblong bezel engraved with an equal-armed cross.
D. 72 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 80.
36. Silver ; oval bezel engraved with an equal-armed cross.
D. "93 in. L. of bezel, '22 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 81.
37. Gold ; the hoop embossed on each side with a meandering vine-stem on which is perched a bird picking at a bunch of grapes ;
the ground is punched with small dots, and below the bezel on each side is a small embossed ring or circle. The bezel is oval, containing a garnet engraved in intaglio with a draped figure seated facing upon a cushioned stool with both arms raised in the attitude of prayer. On each side of the head, a cross.
See figure. Stii centnry (?).
D. fl in. Weight, 113 grains. Castellani Coll. 1872.
Christian Catalogue, no. 44. See Fortnum in .4 r:h. Journal . .xxviii (1S71), p. 281, no. 3 ; Smith and Cheetham, Dictionary 0/ Christian Antiquities, vol. i, p. 1716.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE
II. From the Christian East.
(a) Inscribed.
(Chiefly (itli to wth eeniiiries.)
I. ICOXOGKAI'IIIC.
38. Gold signet, w ith oval bezel engraved with a bust of Our Lord between two crosses. Below, two adoring angels with a cruciform monogram between them. Round the edge of the bezel is engraved : ATIOC ATIOC ATIOC KYPIOC CABAO0.
Sec figure. 6ih or '/th century.
D. i'i4 in. L. of bezel, "62 in. Weight, 309 grains.
Christian Catalogue, no. 120. H. Leclercq, as above, col. 2204.
39. Gold, with engraved and nielloed ornament ; the fiat octagonal hoop has an applied bezel in the form of a square with four lobes, on which is the Annun- ciation. To r is the Virgin, seated in a high-backed chair; to /. stands the archangel. Round the hoop is the inscription: + X6Pe KeXAPI ////// O KC MCTA COY (.\cupe Kfx,api.ricij.iviy u Kvpioi juera rrov, Luke i. 28) within a herring- bone border.
yi/i century (?).
D. "9 in. L. of bezel, 76 in. Weight, 291 grains. Castellani Coll. 1872.
Christian Catalogue, no. 121. The niello is almost entirely lost, and the hoop is much worn. The style of this ring is the same as that of nos. 46-50, which see. Cf a ring with the Annunciation, figured by G. Schluniberger, Melanges d'archcologie byzantine, p. 169, and Byzantinisclie Zcitschrifl, 1S93, p. 191 ; another, with a bust of Our Lord, is in the Museo Civico, Venice. For other nielloed rings in this style see Kondakoff. Geschiclite und Denkiiidler dcs byza7itinischen Emails, p. 264 (in the treasury of the monastery of Gelat near Kutais) ; G. Schlumberger, Melanges d'archcologie byzantine, p. 67 ; O. Pelka, AltchristUche Ehedenk- vidlo; pp. 105, 109. Rings in this style vary considerably in merit. If the Palermo example {see under no. 46) belonged to the treasure of Constans II, it must be at least as old as the seventh century. Such an early date is confirmed by the Latin inscription (Glori.\ in EXCELSIS D5 ET IN TERRA l'.\XI on an example with Our Lord between two angels, from Trapani, in the collection of Sir Arthur Evans, perhaps also from the treasure of Constans.
40. Gold signet ; plain hoop and applied oval bezel engraved with a full-faced bust of Our Lord (?), bearded, and wearing a diadem. Legend : CALBATOP.
See figure.
L. '8 in. D. of bezel, '6 in. Weight. 175 grains. Obtained in Rome.
Christian Catalogue, no. 122.
8
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
42.
43-
Gold signet, with hoop of rectangular section expanding to a massive rectangular bezel, engraved with Orpheus seated near a tree, holding a lyre : at his feet lie two animals. Legend: C<t)PArHC. OIOAHOU TOY ATHO CTeOANHTX ((r<f>payls 'lindwov rod ayiov oreipartrov ? '•
See figure.
D. f02 in. Weight, 879 grains. Found at Scutari. Christian Catalogue, no. 123. For the word oTf<^a«'ri;r {Coronatus) see Ducange, Glossarium, s. i\
Silver signet, witli applied circular bezel engraved with St. Leontius as before. To r. is a star, or the sacred monogram. Direct legend: AT IOC AeONTL
D. I in. D. of bezel, '5 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 135.
Bronze signet, with circular bezel engraved with the standing figure of St. Demetrius, full face, in long garments, and holding a cross over his breast. To left and right the (reversed) inscription : + O ATIOC AHMHTPIC.
D. I in. D. of bezel, i'02 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 126.
2. MARRIAGE AND BETROTHAL RINGS.
44. Bronze signet; flat hoop engraved on the outer side: XPVCAOIOV OeOAOJPAC. Applied rectangular bezel engraved with a standing figure in military costume, holding a long cross in the left hand, and a spear and oval shield in the right.
D. l-oi in. D. of bezel, •^ in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 127. Probably a marriage-ring. For the name Chrj-saphius see Pape-Benseler, Worterbuch der sfidt-griecMschen Eigennamen, s. i'. ; Muralt, Essai de chrono- graphie byzantine, p. 50 ; Theophanes, i^hronographia. year 5938.
45. Iron ; polygonal hoop and flat oval bezel engraved with (direct) legend : CT€<t)ANy re OCIA(C)? in three lines.
D. I in. L. of bezel, •& in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 128. The second name may be YtKaaia, as rtXao-tor is known as a late male name (Pape-Benseler, Worterbuch, s. v., and J. B. Chabot, Index alphabctique des inscriptions grecques et laiines pnibliees par Waddington, s. v.).
46. Gold, with engraved and nielloed ornament. The hoop flat and octagonal ; applied bezel in the form of an eight-foil. On the bezel four figures .stand on an exergual line, the two in the middle representing Our Lord and the Virgin, the
47-
wi^iaKiifWM
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE 9
foiiiicr blessing the bridegroom, and the Litter the bride. Above the figures is a seven-rayed star, and in the exergue is the word OMONVA (ojuJi'om). On each face of the hoop is engraved a .scene from the history of Our Lord. These are, beginning from the right of the bezel : the Annunciation ; the Visitation ; the Nativity ; the Presenta- tion in the Temple ; the Adoration ; the Crucifixion or Ecce Homo ; the Angel at the Tomb. The figures in tlic various groups are engraved in outline, the lines being filled with niello. See figure. jM century (?).
D. 75 in. D. of bezel, -46 in. Weight, 394 grains.
Christian Catalogue, no. 129. Cf. no. 38 above, but especially the similar ring in the museum at Palermo {Salinas, Relazione siil Miisco di Palermo, pi. A I, Palermo, 1S73, "i"'! Archivio Storico Sidliano, N. S., iii, pp. 92 ff. ; Durand, Bullethi montemental , 1882, pp. 508 fif. ; Archaeo- logical Journal., xxxviii (1881), p. 154; dc Rossi, Biillettino di archeologia cristiana, 188S 9, pp. S4 ff.). The Palermo ring, discovered during the construction of the railway from Syracuse to Catania, was associated with numerous coins of Constans II, assassinated in Sicily in a.d. 668.
Gold ; once nielloed. The flat hoop is engraved on the outside with the inscription: + IPHNHN THN CMHN AHAOMe (John xiv. 27). Applied bezel resembling that of no. 38, with four projecting lobes, engraved with a figure of Our Lord standing with his right arm extended and resting on the shoulder of the bridegroom, his left on that of the bride. Behind the bridegroom is the letter O ; behind the bride the letter M, the two commencing the word OM(0)NYA (ojuojoia), the last three letters of which are below the feet of Our Lord, the second O being omitted. Below the feet of the bride is a star.
7//^ century (?).
D. -88 in. L. of bezel, 78 in. Weight, 218 grains. From Girgenti. Christian Catalogue, no. 130. See note to preceding number.
48. Gold ; engraved and nielloed ; flat hoop ; applied oval bezel, with Our I,ord standing upon an exergual line with his arms extended over a bride and
bridegroom on either side of him ; below
the line, the legend: OMONYA [oixwoia). -^QUJGTfi B6D'^HAM Round the hoop, beginning from the right,
a legend {see figure), possibly intended for diorom iioydtt, afii'iv. yt/i century (?).
D. -82 in. L. of bezel, -6 in. Weight, 124 grains. 1856.
Christian Catalogue, no. 131. See Arcli.Journ. xix (1862), p. 325, from which the tigure is reproduced.
lO CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
49. Gold, with nielloed ornament, of similar shape to no. 4S. The group on the bezel is the same, and in the exergue is tlie same word OMONYA (o/oioroia). Round the hoop is the legend: + (EIP)HNHN TIN EMHN AIAOOMC UMHN (John xiv. 27).
D. 78 in. L. of bezel, -51 in. Weight, I2ti grains.
Christian Catalogue, no. 132. The inscription and bezel are worn, and a great part of the niello is lost.
50. Gold, with slender hoop and applied oval bezel engraved with the busts of a man and a woman with a nielloed cross between them ; above the cross is a bust of Our Lord (?), with a nimbus and with the letter € on one side and O A on the other, possibly part of the name Theodore. Below the cross is the word [OjMONGIA (o/j-ovoia). The inscriptions are filled with niello.
See figure.
D. 75 in. L. of bezel, -46 in. Weight, 52 grains. 1S97. From Beyrut.
Christian Catalogue, no. 133.
3. ACCLAMATIONS AND PRAYERS.
51. Gold ; plain hoop swelling to the shoulders, and oval bezel engraved with a large six-rayed star, surrounded by the legend : + eATTIC MOY 0 0C.
D. 78 in. D. of bezel, -48 in. Weight, 103 grains. Christian Catalogue, no. 134.
52. Silver signet, with faceted octagonal hoop and octagonal bezel engraved with (reversed) legend : KAPT €P6I in two lines.
D. -92 in. L. of bezel, -5 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 135.
53. Silver, with high circular bezel engraved with (direct) legend in six lines :
eic eeoc K€ o x pictoc avtov Ke to ation nN€YMA.
l).-88in. D. of bezel, -4 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 1 36.
54. Silver signet, the hoop expanding slightly at the bezel, which is oval, with a (reversed) legend in three lines: Ke B OHO! C VNECI (Kvpu /So^Oei i!w€(riu) ? ).
D. -8 in. Castellan! Coll. 1872. Christian Catalogue, no. 137.
55. Sua ER : hoop swelling slightly to shoulders ; pointed ova! bezel with (reversed) legend in three lines: Ke BO H0H NIKHTA AM (Kvpn /Jori^et NtK^Ta, aixi'ji').
D. I in. L. of bezel, -6 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 13S.
EARLY ClIKISTIAN AND BYZANTINE
ir
1216-
See K. Krumbacher,
56. Bronze signet, once gilt, eintl inlaid with silver, the hoop narrowest at back and rounded on the outer side ; the bezel oval, with a vertical ridge at top and bottom. The outer sides of the hoop are
engraved with floral scrolls inlaid with silver, and the bezel with a (reversed) legend: + K€ B' T|0 CO A' CTej<J>ANO AMjHN {KvfHf iSo/iOft rw o-oi gotXo) — 7-e(/)ar(o. 'Aixi'jv).
See figure.
D. I in. L. of bezel, 7 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 139. This ring may be compared with an example from Sicily in the museum at Syracuse (Orsi, in Byzantinisclie Zcitscltrift,yS\, p. 472, fig. 12). Cf. also for the shape a gold betrothal-ring which some have considered to be that of Stephen Radoslav, styled Ducas, King of Servia (a. d. 1228-34), and Anna Comnena, daughter of the Emperor Theodore Angelus Comnenus Ducas of Salonica (a.d. Sitziuigsberiihte der phitos.-philol. mid historischen Klasse der k. bayerischen Akademic der Wissenschaftcu, 1906, Heft iii. The present example should be earlier than the year A.D. 1000.
57. Bronze ; slender hoop and oval bezel engraved with (reversed) legend in three lines : + Ke BO[I0I KOCTA|TANOV (Kv/ne /io/;0«t Kuwravnarw?).
D. -8 in. L. of bezel, '6 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 140.
58. Bronze ; slender hoop with small projections at the shoulders, and high oval bezel with channelled sides roughly engraved with (direct) legend : KEBOH^XAI (?), within a dotted border.
D. I in. L. of bezel, "5 in. From Catania. Christian Catalogue, no. 141.
59. Silver signet ; flat hoop and applied circular bezel. Round the hoop, legend (sec figure) : Kvpte iSoyda tj; j (popovaris. The bezel is engraved with a Medusa-like face from which radiate seven serpents Above the head is a cross.
See figure.
[k^J5^0j'wi;Ti .'^q^p^'cfl
D. -Sin. D.of bezel, -eein.
Christian Catalogue, no. 142. This ring was probably worn as an amulet. The design on the bezel may be compared with others of the same character, the use of which for protection against disease or accident is undoubted. See G. .Schlumberger, Melanges d\irch^otogie hyzaiitine, pp. 136 ff. ; C. W. King, The Gnostics and their Remains, pp. 167-9, and fig. 3. Cf. also Antiquites de fEnipire Riisse, Atlas, vol. i, pi. 23 (Moscow, 1849). The type of large amulet with Medusa head is represented by various examples, one of which is in the church of St. Servaas at Maastricht (Arch. Join n. xxi, fig. on p. 275).
The inscription : Lord preser^'c the wearer, found on this and the following numbers, was evidently in common usage. Cf. ring from Sicily in the museum at Syracuse (Orsi Byzantinische Zeitschrift, xix, p. 472).
12 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RIXGS
60. Bronze signet : the hoop engraved on the shoulders with conventional ornament. The bezel is oval, engraved with a reversed legend in three lines : + Ke ROH0H THC (DOPX {Kvpn ^oi'jdei rfis (popovaiji).
D. 1-04 in. L. of bezel, '64 in. 1S53. Christian Catalogue, no. 143.
61. Bronze signet: rectangular bezel engraved with a reversed legend: KC BOH0 H TOV <t>0 PONTOC.
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, '^6 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 144.
62. Bronze ; the hoop engraved on the shoulders with conventional ornament. The bezel is oval, pierced in the centre, and with small projections on the upper and lower edges. Circular direct inscription : KG BOG! TO OOPO {Kvpte jioi'idn
TU (pOpOWTl).
D. '94 in. L. of bezel, "64 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 145.
63. Silver ; the hoop engraved on each side with a serpentine figure and three stars. Oval bezel with a channelled projection at top and bottom, and a milled band round the sides. The centre is drilled with a circular cavity surrounded by the legend : Ke BOH0HTON eXOTA {Kvpie iBoi'ida rbv (xovto).
D. '94 in. L. of bezel, '66 in. Castellani Coll. Christian Catalogue, no. 146.
64. 'Silver ; the hoop engraved on the shoulders with conventional ornament ; oval bezel with projections at top and bottom, and engraved with
the (direct) legend: Ke BO H0H TO 0OPO (Kvpu fioi'idn tQ, tpopovv-i) in three lines within a circle. See figure.
D. 7S in. L. of bezel, "52 in. Obtained in Constantinople. Christian Catalogue, no. 147.
65. Bronze ; the hoop expanding to an oval bezel with pointed projections from the upper and lower edges ; legend in four lines, beginning
Ke BOH0L /^tforio^
See figure. f^'JOlyH^H^,
D. "9 in. L. of bezel, 74 in. Obtained in Constantinople. xj/HOO^.^
Christian Catalogue, no. 148.
66. Silver; the hoop triangular in section, and engraved on each shoulder with floral ornament derived from the palmette. Circular bezel engraved with a reversed legend (much worn) in three lines, beginning Ke b' {Kvpie ^01'idei).
D. I in. D. of bezel, -44 in. Date of .icquisition unknown.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE I3
67. Iron ; circular bezel engraved with a direct legend in three lines partially- effaced : K(e BO?) i lAKOY YriA {Kv,,i.i fioi'idd- 'Ia(«u>v vyuio ?).
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, 74 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 149.
68. Bronze ; slender octagonal hoop and vertical oval bezel engraved with a direct inscription in four lines : Vfl IAN]NO V (vyUia 'ludwov?).
D. '94 in. L. of bezel, "54 in. From Tartiis, Syria. Christian Catalogue, no. 150.
69. . Bronze ; slender polygonal hoop, anil applied oval bezel engraved with a Latin cross surrounded by a direct legend : VflA lOANNY (vyieia 'Imavvov).
D. "84 in. L. of bezel, '56 in. From Beyrut. Christian Catalogue, no. 151.
70. Iron ; polj-gonal hoop and circular bezel engraved with direct legend : + ANTIOXX \^\^? ('AvTLoxovvyUia).
D. "92 in. L. of bezel, '6 in. From Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 152.
71. Silver; raised oval bezel engraved with a direct legend in three lines: (D ZGJHjC.
D. 104 in. L. of bezel, '54 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 153.
72. Bronze signet ; the hoop ornamented with a three-lobed projection on each shoulder. The bezel is oval, and engraved with a reversed legend in four lines: OeU) OYAAK TY HAT POC iQioi}>v\dKTov TtaT,w).
D. 1-26 in. L. of bezel, 7 in. Castellani Coll. 1S72.
Christian Catalogue, no. 154. Perhaps a mourning-ring worn by a son in memory of his father. For the name Theophylactus scr Pape-Benseler, Wdr/erbiick der gricchischen Eigen- jitimcii, s. V.
73. Bronze ; applied circular bezel engraved with a direct inscription in four lines: + C0PATIC COAOMONOC BOH0I (^^ payU 'S.okoixavos fioi]e(i).
D. i"o4. L. of bezel, "64 in. Obtained in Rome.
Christian Catalogue, no. 155. For Solomon's name on amulets sec G. Schluniberger, Melanges (T archcologie byzaniine, pp. 120 ff. On the " seal of Solomon' sec C. W. King, The Gnostics and their Remains, pp. 3SS and 423 ; G. B. de Rossi, Bullcilino di archeologia crisliana, ii (1891), pp. 133 ff., and iv {1894), pp. 104-5 ; P. Perdrizet in Rev. dcs etudes grecques, xvi, 1903, pp. 42 ff., and Byzantinischc Zeitsch?i/t, viii (1899), p. 715.
74. Iron ; slender polygonal hoop, and flat octagonal bezel engraved with a Greek cross and direct legend : + ZOPAriC COAOMON.
D. "9 in. L. of bezel, "56 in. From Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 156.
14 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
75. Bronze ; flat hoop and oval bezel engraved with a direct legend in three lines: OICATO IK0N6NB0H.
D. of bezel, '6 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 157.
76. Bronze : bezel engraved with a similar inscription in three lines : OKA TOIKONeN.
D. •/ in.
Christian Catalogue,, no. 158.
77. Bronze: oval bezel engraved with a direct inscription in two lines: ICKipi.
D. "9 in. D. of bezel, -4 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 159.
78. Bronze ; circular bezel engraved with an inscription in characters symmetrically disposed.
Sec figure.
D. '85 in. D. of bezel, '6 in. From SmjTna. Christian Catalogue, no. 160.
79. Silver ; rectangular bezel engraved with an inscription in two lines :
xepe , iYJW(?).
D. '74 in. L. of bezel, '32 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 161. The hoop broken.
80. Bronze ; the hoop of triangular section, swelling slightly at the shoulders, which are engraved with chevrons. Oval bezel, with channelled projections at top and bottom, and engraved with a \er\" rough inscription in three lines.
D. i'36 in. L. of bezel, 7 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 162.
4. NAMES AND MONOGRAMS.
81. Bronze; slender hoop and oval bezel engraved with the name ACM NOV within a dotted circle.
D. 1 in. L. of bezel. "64 in. From Smyrna.
Christian Catalogue, no. 163. For the name .io/iioj see Pape-Benseler, Jl'orlerbuck der griechisehen Eigennamer., s. v.
82. Bronze ; hoop expanding to an oval bezel engraved with the name A€0 NTC {\f.6i-ws) within a circle.
D. 1 in. L. of bezel, •46 in. Christian C.italoguc. no. 164.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTIN1-:
15
83. Bronze ; projecting circular bezel engraved in direct characters w itii the name MIXjAHA in two lines.
D. ri6 in. D. of bezel, "44 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 165.
84. Bronze ; oval bezel with channelled projections at top and bottom, engraved with reversed legend: rCOP fl If (reto/jytou), preceded by a cross.
D. '94 in. L. of bezel, '56 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 166.
85. Bronze; oval bezel engraved with the reversed name CePr(l)0 {^(pyLov?) in two lines.
D. I in. L. of bezel, -5 in. Obtained in Naples. Christian Catalogue, no. 167.
86. Bronze ; projecting oval bezel, engraved with a reversed inscription in two lines: lOAN ONNO.
D. -g in. D. of bezel, -55 in. 1S65.
87. Bronze ; the hoop ornamented on each shoulder with a deeply cut chevron between vertical lines. Oval bezel with a monogram (?) in niello, divided into
HOH
two parts by a horizontal line : -— -— ^ ^ iOH
D. "87 in. L. of bezel, "5 in.
88. Gold signet ; plain hoop with angular shoulders ; oval bezel engraved with a monogram between two crosses and surmounted by a star with six rays.
See figure. 6f/i cenhtry.
D. ro3 in. L. of bezel, '62 in. Weiyht, 243 grains. Obtained in Constantinople.
Christian Catalogue, no. 16S. Cf. a gold ring in the Fortnum Collection, Arch. Joiirn. xxvi (1869), p. 146. no. 24 ; Smith and Cheetham, ii, p. 1798.
89. Bronze signet ; applied circular bezel engraved with a monogram Sec figure, dth century.
D. I'l in. D. of bezel, '58 in. From Tartus, Syria. Christian Catalogue, no. 169.
90. Bronze ; high circular bezel engraved with a monogram.
See figure.
D. i'i2 in. L. of bezel, '42 in. Obtained in Rome.
The ring may possibly be Frankish, in imitation of the Byzantine style. Cf. rings cited by Deloche, and Victoria and Albert Museum, nos. 622-71.
i6
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
94.
95-
91. Gold signet, the hoop formed of three pearled wires ; oval bezel engraved \vith a monogram between two crosses.
Src figure. 6l/i centiir)'. ^^
D. "8 in. L. of bezel, "32 in. AVeight, 37 grains. From Beyriit, Syria. Christian Catalogue, no. 170.
92. Bronze ; oval bezel engraved with two monograms, two crosses, and a star. Sec figure.
D. -92 in. L. of bezel, '6 in. iTH* I
Christian Catalogue, no. 173.
93. Bronze signet; circular bezel engraved with legend : NK + KCO(?) in two lines.
D. 1 in. D. of bezel, •6 in. Obtained in Pozzuoli. Christian Catalogue, no. 174.
Gold signet : hollow inside, the hoop w-ith three marked flutings, which issue in an octagonal bezel ; on the shoulders, a band of engraved chevrons. The bezel is engraved with a cruciform monogram, perhaps forming the name Manuel.
See figure. 1 4/// century.
D. "93 in. L. of bezel, "64 in. Weight, 212 grains.
Christian Catalogue, no. 171. This ring has been ascribed to Manuel Palaeologus (134S-1425), an attribution not contradicted by the style of the work though unsupported by any evidence. The type is common in Italy in the fourteenth century ; the ring may either be the work of an Italian goldsmith settled in Greece, or that of a Greek goldsmith who adopted a Western form.
Gold signet ; plain solid hoop ; oval bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram.
See figure. .
D. I in. L. of bezel, -46 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 172.
Weight, 333 grains.
^
96. Bronze signet ; the hoop slender at back. Oval bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram composed of the letters "If NCO and M (?). D. I in. L. of bezel, '6 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 175.
Q
97. Bronze ; hoop slender at the back. Oval bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram. Sec figure.
D. '56 in. L. of bezel, "6 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 176. B
0-
fl
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE 17
98. Bronze signet ; a projection on each shoulder ; oval bezel with a direct cruciform monogram.
Sec figure.
D. -96 in. L. of bezel, .5 in. Given by John Fewkes, Esq., 1891. Christian Catalogue, no. 177.
99. Bronze signet ; oval bezel engraved with a direct cruciform li
monogram.
Sir figure. H
->\
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, -64 in. Castellani Coll. 1S72. Christian Catalogue, no. 178.
100. Silver ; flat circular bezel engraved with a direct cruciform monogram. Sec figure.
D. I in. L. of bezel, -5 in. Obtained in Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 179.
loi. Silver ; circular applied bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram.
D. -88 in. D. of bezel, -5 in.
The ring is more probably Byzantine than Merovingian, though a Prankish origin is not excluded.
102. Bronze signet; plain hoop and circular bezel engraved with a cruciform
monogram within a circle. See fisfure.
D. I in. D. of bezel, -46 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 180. CU
103. Bronze signet ; hoop expanding to an oval bezel with slight projections at top and bottom, and engraved with a much-worn cruciform monogram.
D. -97 in. L. of bezel, -5 in. Castellani Coll. 1S72. Christian Catalogue, no. iSi.
104. Bronze signet; oval bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram with four characters: Y, tO, T\, and C (?).
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, -6 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 182.
105. Bronze ; oval bezel engraved with a direct cruciform monogram which perhaps reads ©eoTo'xe (ioi'^dei. On one shoulder is a somewhat similar monogram formed of five letters : B (?), I, A, Y. and T. q
See figure.
&-
D. I in. L. of bezel, '56 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 1S3. KB
t8
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
Io6. Bronze signet ; slightly raised circular bezel engraved with a circle con-
taining a cruciform monogram with the letters N, if, C, and € (?).
D. -94 in. D. of bezel, -42 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 184.
107. Bronze signet ; slender hoop with a tongue-shaped pro- jection on each shoulder, and high circular bezel with channelled sides, very rudely engraved with a cruciform monogram. See figure.
D. I in. D. of bezel, -54 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 1S5.
108. Bronze signet ; oval bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram.
D. -96 in. L. of bezel, -46 in. Found in Sicily. Christian Catalogue, no. 1S6.
109. Bronze signet ; rectangular bezel engraved with a cruciform monogram. See figure.
D. -88 in. L. of bezel, -56 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 1S7. The monogram reads Bcotoicc jSoij^ei, and the four letters in the angles, YFHA (iyUta) ; cf. nos. 67-70 above.
Q.
-0-
lio. Bronze signet ; the hoop thickest at the back. Oval bezel engraved with a monogram (?) of very irregular form.
D. I in. L. of bezel, -7 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 1S8.
6. Uninscribed.
{^th to wth centuries.)
I. ICONOGR.iPHIC.
III. Gold signet, with plain rounded hoop and solid oval bezel engraved with a bust of Our Lord, with a cruciform nimbus ; below arc two adoring angels with their heads inclined towards each other. In the field, three crosses. See figure.
D. 1-14 in. L. of bezel, '58 in. Weight, 427 grains. Christian Catalogue, no. 189. Found in the East with coins of Heraclius and another plain ring. Cf. no. 37 above.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINF, T9
112. Gold signet; tlie hoop forming seven oval medallions separated by pairs of pellets. Each medallion is engraved in intaglio with a standing figure in a long mantle, the end of which he holds in his r. hand ; all the figures are similar in character. The applied oval bezel is engraved with a beardless figure (Our Lord ?) seated on a high-backed chair with his ;-. hand raised in the attitude of benediction and with a footstool beneath his feet.
See figure, ^tli century (?).
D. I in. L. of bezel, -56 in. Wciglit, 318 grains. 01)- yjlgi^ /f v^!'
tained in Smyrna.
Christian Catalogue, no. 190.
113. Broxzk signet, with flat hoop and oval bezel engraved with a seated figure of the Virgin with the Child (?). Before her stands a nimbed figure.
D. of bezel, •6 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 191.
The hoop is broken.
114. Gold ; flat hoop engraved with a chevron on each shoulder ; octagonal bezel bearing in relief a half-length figure of the Virgin, very rudely cast and chased, with the Child upon her breast, and her hands raised in the attitude of an orans.
D. 78 in. L. of bezel, -56 in. Weight, 33 grains. Christian Catalogue, no. 192.
115. Silver, with flat channelled hoop and applied oval bezel engraved in intaglio with the Annunciation. On the left stands the Virgin with the basket and the wool (?) before her ; on the right, the archangel Gabriel carrying a staff.
D. -8 in. L. of bezel, -38 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 193.
116. Bronze signet ; polygonal hoop and applied oval bezel engraved in
intaglio with a draped figure of a saint standing between two animals, the arms
raised in the attitude of an orans.
D. -86 in. L. of bezel, -5 in.
Christian Catalogue, no. 194. Probably St. Menas between two monsters.
117. Bronze signet ; oval bezel engraved in intaglio with a saint (St. George ?) riding to /. and piercing a serpent with a lance cruciform at the butt.
D. I in. D. of bezel, -7 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 195.
118. Iron signet, with applied oval bezel engraved with a mounted figure, riding to /. (St. George ?).
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, -34 in. Obtained in Thebes, Egypt. Christian Catalogue, no. 196.
C 2
20 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
119. Bronze signet ; high circular bezel engraved in intaglio with a horseman riding to /., carrying a lance with cruciform butt. In front of the horse is a cross ; above its head a crescent.
D. PG4 in. D. of bezel, -6 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 197.
120. Iron signet.- applied circular bezel engraved with a mounted saint riding to /. (St. George ?), within a dotted border. D. '9 in. D. of bezel, -56 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 198.
121. Bronze signet ; circular bezel rudely engraved with a mounted saint to
/., holding a lance. The field is filled with punched dots.
D. '94 in. D. of bezel, 74 in. Obtained in Constantinople. Christian Catalogue, no. 199.
122. Iron signet ; polj^gonal hoop and oval bezel engraved in intaglio with the bust of an angel, full-face.
D. '9 in. L. of bezel, -5 in. From Tartus, Syria. Christian Catalogue, no. 202.
123. Iron signet ; polygonal hoop and applied oval bezel engraved with the bust of a saint or angel within a circle.
D. 1-04 in. L. of bezel, -6 in. Obtained in Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 203.
124. Iron signet ; polygonal hoop and applied oval bezel engraved in intaglio with three standing figures within a circle.
D. i-io in. L. of bezel, '68 in. Obtained in Asia Minor. Christian Catalogue, no. 204.
125. Bronze signet ; slender hoop ; high conical bezel engraved with three draped standing figures.
D. I'oS in. D. of bezel, -6 in. From Be)'rut. Christian Catalogue, no. 205.
126. Bronze signet ; high circular bezel rudely engraved in intaglio with a standing figure, with arms raised in the attitude of an oralis, between two other figures. See figure.
D. •^ in. D. of bezel, -4 in. From Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 206. The hoop is broken.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE
21
2. MARRIAGE AND BETROTHAL RINGS.
127. Gold signet ; the hoop forms sc\cn circular medallions divided by pellets
engraved with male and female busts alteinating. The lines arc filled with niello, and on each side of the head in each medallion is a branch or flower of punched dots. The bezel is rectangular, deeply engraved with a male and female bust confronted ; between the two heads is a cross with equal arms. The man wears a chlamys, with fibula on the ;-. shoul- der, the female a. mantle covering both shoulders, ear-rings, and a necklace.
See figure. 5//; century.
D. 1-02 in. L. of bezel, -5 in. Weight, 446 grains. Formerly in the Dimitri Coll.
Christian Catalogue, no. 207. Fortnum in y4n"A. yfl//;;/. x.Nix, p. 304, fig. 2. Cf. no. and a gold ring at Vienna (Y. Ameth, Cold- und Silber-Monumente, Sr'c., pl. xii, fig. 152).
112
128. Gold signet ; flat hoop ; rectangular bezel engraved with two male and female busts confronted.
D. -S in. L. of bezel, -26 in. Weight, 33 grains.
Christian Catalogue, no. 208. The ring has no definite emblem of Christianity upon it, but the subject, though very inferior in execution, resembles that of the preceding number.
129. Bronze ; flat polygonal hoop and raised rectangular bezel rudely engraved with two confronted busts. On the hoop on each side of the bezel is a panel engraved with a bird.
D. -/S in. L. of bezel, -30 in. Christian Catalogue, no. 209.
3. MISCELLANEOUS.
130. Gold ; the hoop hollow and narrowest at the back, where there is a carbuncle in a raised setting ; the shoulders are moulded to represent hares. High circular bezel with pierced sides, containing a gold coin of the Emperor Marcian (A.D. 450-7), showing the obverse.
See figure. 5/// ecu tiny.
D. 1-3 in. D. of bezel, -98 in. Weight, 3S2 grains. From the Seine at Rouen.
Christian Catalogue, no. 210 and PI. IV. **^
131. Gold : the hoop formed of a plain wire to which is applied a gold coin of the Emperor Justinian I, within a pearled border. The reverse of the coin is to the front of the ring.
D. I in. Weight, 143 grains. Castellani Coll. 1865. Christian Catalogue, no. 211.
22 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
132. Gold ; pierced hoop of three horizontal bands ornamented with punched dots, enclosing four circular open-work medallions each containing a cross pattee.
Sec figure. FBCl^a v ;..
D. '7 in. Weight, 48 grains. From Smyrna. ^^ '.V^ivW
Christian Catalogue, no. 212.
133. Bronze stamp-ring ; rounded hoop with a boss on each side of the bezel, which is square, perforated at each corner, and ornamented with a cruciform figure in relief.
D. 1-2 in. L. of bezel, -7 in. From Thebes, Eg>-pt. Christian Catalogue, no. 213.
134. Bronze ; circular bezel deeply engraved with a cross pattee. D. 1-2 in. D. of bezel, -92 in. From Quft, Egypt.
Christian Catalogue, no. 214.
135. Iron .signet ; plain rounded hoop and applied circular bezel engraved with a cross with bifurcating ends.
D. -9 in. D. of bezel, -46 in. From Thebes, Egypt. Christian Catalogue, no. 215.
136. Iron ; slender hoop and applied circular bezel engraved with a cross with bifurcating ends.
D. -64 in. D. of bezel, '34 in. From Luxor, Eg)-pt. Christian Catalogue, no. 216.
137. Bronze ; polygonal hoop ; bezel in the shape of a cross pattee, with traces of an inscription, the letter CO being in the centre, and four others, of which two are H and <t), at the extremities.
D. '82 in. D. of bezel, "4 in. From the Fayuni. Christian Catalogue, no. 217.
138. Iron signet ; engraved shoulders ; high circular bezel engraved with a cross pattee between four dots.
D. i'i2 in. D. of bezel, -64 in. From Thebes, Egypt. Christian Catalogue, no. 218.
139. Bronze signet ; the hoop triangular in section ; the shoulders channelled. The bezel is lozenge-shaped, and engraved with a cross.
D. -92 in. L. of bezel, •36 in. From Naples. Christian Catalogue, no. 219.
140. Gold : the flat hoop cut into four circular and four hexagonal panels alter- nating with each other. The circular panels are engraved alternately with a bird (dove) and a palmette, the hexagons with an S-shaped line crossed by a bar, all the lines terminating in punched dots.
D. -63 in. Weight, 56 grains. From Beyrut. Christian Catalogue, no. 220.
EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE 23
141. ]?KONZE SIGNET ; tlie hoop moulded at the shoulders to resemble two monsters' heads. Hexagonal bezel with projecting angles, engraved in intaglio with a bird and three branches ; below is an inverted pyramid of sunk dots, and in front of the head a line of similar dots.
I). .94 in. D. of bezel, -66 in. From Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 221.
142. Bronze signet ; slender hoop ; high circular bezel engraved with a palm tree between two birds.
D. i-i in. D. of bezel, '54 in. From Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 222.
143. Bronze ; applied circular bezel, engraved with a dove (?) between two crosses with equal arms.
D. "94 in. D. of bezel, -45 in. From Luxor, Egypt. Christian Catalogue, no. 223.
144. Bronze signet ; high circular bezel engraved with an eagle displayed, standing upon the back of a lion, beneath which is a serpent (?).
D. I-I2 in. L. of bezel, -6 in. From Cairo. Christian Catalogue, no. 224. "
145. Bronze ; circular bezel engraved with a lion to r. ; above the back, the letters
AeON (?).
D. '7 in. Obtained in Smyrna. Christian Catalogue, no. 225.
B. EARLY TEUTONIC
I. ContinentaL
((i) Inscribed.
146. Gold signet ; the hoop expanding to a double bezel engraved with the legend: GIINDIiHILDL Pearled band.
Plate I. Merovingian, about 6th century.
D. -84 in. D. of bezel, -42 in. Weight, 126 grains. Found in Savoy.
Deloche, Eiuite historique et arche'ologique stir les anneatix sigillahes et atitres des premiers siccles dii moyen age, 1900, no. ccxcii, pp. 338-9. For the name which may be intended, Giridehild or Gundehild, see Forstemann, Personcnnamen, cols. 662 and 730.
Rings of this kind with two or more bezels are not uncommon among Graeco-Roman and Roman rings; cf. Catalogue tif Finger Rings, Creek, Etruscan and Roman, hy F. H. Marshall, nos. 167,966, 1 1 17. An example of the type found at Angers and engraved with the name MARCONI VIA is ascribed by Deloche to the seventh century [Anneaux sigillaires, p. 51).
24 CATALOGUE OF FIXGER-RIXGS
147. Silver ; plain hoop ; raised rectangular bezel engraved with a
legend in two lines within a cable border. ii^^l
Set' figure. Meroviiigiati. D. I in. L. of bezel, -5 in. From Poitiers. _
\^
148. Bronze signet ; large circular bezel engraved with (reversed) legend : -f 0AVF62ICASTALDeVS, within an engraved border.
Merovingian (?), 6th century. D. I-I4 in.
149. Silver signet; a triangle of six pellets on each shoulder; rectangular bezel engraved with the (reversed) legend : Z 0 C H M D , in two lines.
Merovingian, about (tth century.
D. -92 in. D. of bezel, -46 in. Found in a grave. (O. Morgan Coll.)
150. Bronze ; the hoop ornamented on the shoulders with punched dots. Rectangular bezel engraved with the letters RES within a dotted border.
Merozingian, ^t/i-6t/t century. D. I in. D. of bezel, -46 in.
151. Bronze signet ; the shoulders ornamented with circles with dots in the centres ; raised pointed oval bezel engraved with an illegible reversed legend.
Merovingian.
D. i-i in. L. of bezel, -52 in.
152. Bronze signet ; oval bezel engraved with a monogram. Merovingian.
D. -96 in. D. of bezel, -56 in.
153- Bronze ; rectangular bezel with a monogram : dotted border. D. I-02 in. L. of bezel, -4 in.
154. Bronze signet ; engraved with simple geometrical ornament at the back ; raised rectangular bezel with monogram.
Merovingian, about 6th century. I). -8 in. L. of bezel, '36 in.
155. Bronze signet: pointed oval bezel engraved with a monogram between two crosses ; dotted border.
Mcrcz-iugian.
D. I in. D. of bezel, 72 in.
EARLY TEUTONIC 25
156. Gold signet ; applied circular bezel engraved with a monogram. "^^.F See figure. Merovingian. ' ^" D. -96 in. D. of bezel, -5 in.
The monogram is so like the Byzantine monognims of the sixth centurj' that it is really doubtful whether this ring is not Byzantine rather than barbaric. Cf. no. 90. But it closely resembles that upon another ring of unknown provenance figured by Deloche (Annfuux- sigilhiires, p. 316), which has upon the shoulders the large pellets characteristic of the Frankish goldsmith's art. Cf. also a ring from the Fould Collection in the V'ictoria and .Albert Museum, no. 622-"7i.
157. Gold ; the hoop a thick wire bifurcating at the two ends, where a flat circular bezel is applied ; on each shoulder a group of three pellet.s. The bezel is engraved with a monogram ; pearled border.
Plate I. Alcmaunic (?).
D. -86 in. D. of bezel, 72 in. Weight, 100 grains. Found at Andernach {Anliinnacum).
Deloche, Anneaux sigillaires, p. 98, no. Ixxxiv ; and cf. the ring from Macon (ibid., p. 25).
158. Silver signet; plain hoop with pellets on the shoulders; flat circular bezel engraved with a monogram.
Merovingian, about 6th century.
D. -S in. D. of bezel, '53 in.
This ring may be compared with one found near Macon (Deloche, Anneaux sigillaires, p. 25) and another from the neighbourhood of Bonn (ibid., p. 97, and Moreau, La Collection Caranda, Album, pi. xxxvi. 17).
159. Silver; applied circular bezel overlaid with gold and engraved with a monogram.
Meroviugiau, about 6th century. D. -86 in. D. of bezel, -47 in.
160. Bronze signet : rectangular bezel rudely engraved with a monogram. D. -96 in. D. of bezel, -46 in.
[b) With human and animal figures.
161. Silver ; the hoop bound with wire and ornamented with three pellets on each shoulder. The applied circular bezel is engraved with a male bust to r. wearing a fillet and looking towards a cross.
Merovingian, ^th century. D. i-o6 in. D. of bezel, -37 in.
162. Silver signet; shaped hoop having at the back a rectangular plate engraved with conventional ornament and near it a serpent's head. The shoulders expand to a rectangular bezel engraved with a standing human figure in relief.
Merovingian, 6th-'/th century. D. -82 in. D. of bezel, -46 in.
The work is veiy rude. The form recalls that of a ring at Mayence found in Hesse- Darmstadt (Deloche, Anneaux sigillaires, p. 93).
26 CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
163. Gold ; slender hoop and applied oval bezel engraved in inta glio with a dove holding an olive-branch (?).
Merox-ingian, 6 th-'; th century. D. 7 in. L. of bezel, -36 in. Weight, 55 grains.
A bird, probably a dove, surmounted by a cross, occurs on an early Teutonic bronze ring from Bel-Air, Switzerland (Deloche, Anneaux sigillaires, p. 33).
164. Gold signet ; hoop with ornament of pellets and twisted wire upon each shoulder ; applied circular bezel engraved with a bird, surmounted by a cross pattee.
Merovwgiati, Sth-'th century.
D. -86 in. D. of bezel, -sS in. Weight, 74 grains. Found at Compiegne. See note to preceding number.
165. Gold signet ; the hoop ornamented on shoulders with pellets and wire. Circular applied bezel engraved with a bird standing before a cross.
Plate I. Merovingian, 6th-'th century.
D. "94 in. D. of bezel, "54 in. Weight, 1 70 grains. (Spitzer CoU., no. 1S75.)
166. Silver signet ; the hoop ornamented on each shoulder with three pellets. Circular bezel, on the back of which the ends of the hoop are beaten into scrolls ; it is engraved with a quadruped, below which is the letter T, while above is a palm-branch : the field is ornamented with dots.
Merovingian, "jth century. D. -93 in. D. of bezel, -S in.
For the scrolled ends of the hoop, cf. the gold ring from Macon (Deloche, Aitneaux sigillaires, p. 25).
167. Gold ; the hoop chased on the outer side with figures of monsters merging into two human figures with raised arms on either side of a rectangular bezel set with an emerald.
Plate I. Merovingian {^), ^th century. D. I in. Weight, 166 grains.
168. Silver gilt ; the hoop expanding towards the shoulders, and chased upon each side with two pairs of quadrupeds back to back, between them a rib branching to both sides and interlocking with the animals ; the eyes are filled with dark blue glass. The bezel has a raised setting containing a sard engraved in intaglio with a horse standing to r.
Plate I. Carolingian, lot/i century. D. I -2 in. L. of bezel, -36 in. The gem is Roman.
(f) Oynaviental.
169. Gold ; thin flat hoop shaped and covered on the outer side with rows of punched dots, the shoulders engraved and ornamented with pellets. High circular bezel with pierced sides ; in the centre a small raised setting containing
EARLY TEUTONIC 27
an emerald ; round this a circle of garnets in cloisons between pellets and twisted wire.
Plate I. Mercn'iugian, 6th-']th century.
D. I'l in. D. of bezel, -6 in. Weight, 125 grains. 1865.
Rings with table-garnets or red pastes set in a circle in a similar manner have been found in Frankish cemeteries, e.g. at Artres in the diocese of Cambrai (Deloche, Aimeaux sigillaires, p. 185), and Samson, province of Namur (ibid., p. 122).
170. Gold ; flat hoop expanding at the shoulders to a bezel in the form of a disk with wavy edge and pearled borders, set with garnets in cells. On each shoulder is a conventional design in pearled wire and pellets.
Plate I. Merovingian, 6th-'jth century. D. -86 in. Castellani Coll. 1S72. Several of the stones are missing.
171. Gold ; the hoop enriched with pellets ; cruciform bezel set with table-garnets in cells.
Plate I. Merovingian, btli-'th ccutnry. D. '9 in. D. of bezel, -44 in. Weight, 60 grains. The central stone is missing.
172. Gold signet ; plain rounded hoop having on each shoulder a group of pellets contained within a pearled wire, the ends of which pass beneath the bezel and terminate in diverging scrolls. The bezel is an oval setting containing a nicolo engraved in intaglio with a shepherd (?) leaning on a staff: before him a goat and a tree.
Plate I. Merovingian, 6th-'/th century. D. IM4 in. D. of bezel, -84 in. Weight, 340 grains. The gem is Roman.
Cf. the ring with an intaglio on carnelian found in a Burgundian tomb at itpendes near Yverdon (Deloche, Anneaux sigillaires, p. 37).
173. Gold, with plain hoop rounded on the outer side and applied projecting openwork bezel in the form of a cupola on a high drum pierced with round arches.
Merovingian (?), 6/// century.
D. ri4in. Hoop only, -76 in. Weight, 65 grains. 1872. (Castellani Coll.)
Cf. Deloche, Anneaux sigillaires, pp. 4, 186, 255; examples froni De la Garde, Loire;
Ciply, near Mons (Hainault) ; and Herpes, Charente, which appear to be not later than the
sixth century.
174. Gold ; the hoop ornamented with applied wire ; high projecting bezel in the form of a square structure with pyramidal roof, the sides pierced with round- headed arches. The sides of tlic roof are ornamented with groups of pellets arranged in triangles ; a raised setting at the top is now empty.
Plate I. Ostrogothic or Loinbardic (?), 6th-'jth century. D. 1-2 in. D. of hoop only, •82 in. Found near Milan. Cf. no. 173.
28
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
175. Gold ; slender hoop and projecting domed bezel, round the sides of which a twisted wire forming a series of loops ; at the top is a circular boss.
6th-' th century.
D. !•! in. D. of hoop only, •S4 in.
The bezel is perhaps a debased form of the true dome represented on nos. 174, 175.
176. Gold ; pierced hoop with a band of zigzag between two raised pearled borders ; high conical bezel, formerly containing a gem. At the apex it has two rows of leaves ; bejond these are two plain, and two pierced
bands alternating ; round the edge are pellets and a pearled border.
Sec figure. Prankish (?), 6th-'/ih century.
D. i'2 in. Weight, 139 grains. 1912.
Obtained in Samos.
The zigzag of the hoop recalls that of a ring found at Spontin near Kamur (Deloche,^«/;£-ii//.r Sigillaires. p. 1 19) ; and the bezel appears to be an exaggerated form of the t)'pe seen in a ring from Herpes Charente (ibid. p. 264). Pins with high conical ends are found in Frankish graves. Cf. Barriere-Fla\'y, Les arts indtistriels des peuples barbares tie la Gaiile, pi. L\iv, fig. S. Samos is a curious place in which to find a Frankish ring.
It is possible that similar types were made by the Teutonic tribes in Italy, from which country they would more easily find their way into the Mediterranean.
176a- Gold ; the hoop with angular shoulders broadening to the bezel, which is a pyramid of five steps set with a faceted ruby. The shoulders are engraved with conventional designs filled with niello.
See figure. Lombardic (?), 7/// century.
D. 1-35 in. Weight, 235 grains.
The stone is probably a later addition. The general type of this ring, the form of the bezel, and the manner in which the stone is set recall examples which are presumably Late Roman and are represented in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities (F. H. Marshall, Catalogue cf Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, no. S46, from S. Angelo dei Lombardi) : cf. also no. 975. The character of the nielloed ornament,
however, suggests a rather later period and an origin perhaps rather Lombard than Byzantine. The stepped pyramidal bezel is found on Frankish and other early Teutonic rings (Deloche, as above, pp. 289, 350).
177. Gold ; slender hoop and circular bezel with pearled border, containing a cross in blue and white cloisonne enamel. Plate I. Carolingian, i'ith-()th century.
D. '9 in. D. of bezel, -5 in. Weight, 65 grains.
E.\amined under the microscope, the vitreous substance within the cloisons appears to be true enamel fused in position, rather than glass paste cut into shape and inserted cold.
EARLY TEUTONIC 29
178. Gold ; raised circular bezel (now empty) with double border of pellets, and flanked by two triangular raised settings with similar borders each containing a conventional design in green and white cloisonne enamel. Plate I. Carolingian, %th-()th century. D. '94 in. D. of bezel, -36 in. Weight, 151 grains. Cf. a ring in the Victoria and .\Ibert Museum, no. 4917-1901.
II. Anglo-Saxon and Viking.
(i) Anglo-Saxon. {a) Inscribed.
Note.— For purposes of dating, the AngIo-Sa.\on period is here divided into two periods, Early and Late. The former is taken to end approximately at a.d. 650, when paganism was replaced by Christianity ; the latter closes about a. d. 1050. The Viking period falls between the ninth and eleventh centuries.
179. GOLD; the hoop flat and rising in front to a high mitre-shaped bezel. In the triangular portion a conventional 'tree', dividing the field into two halves, is flanked by two peacocks, all reserved in the metal upon a ground of niello ; in the two lower corners are panels with foliage in relief without niello. The two disks with rosettes, which form part of the central ' tree ', are treated in the same manner. Round the hoop is the nielloed legend: Ell-ELVVVLF REX, preceded by a cross. The back of the hoop has a circle containing a rosette upon a nielloed ground, flanked by foliate designs, one of which is interlaced. Plate II. Late Saxon.
D. 1-04 in. H. of bezel, V2 in. Weight, 2S5 grains. Given by the Earl of Radnor, 1829. Found in a cart-rut at Laverstock, Wiltshire, in the summer of \. D. 1780.
The ring has been crushed and somewhat flattened, some of the niello in the inscription being lost.
Archaeologici, vii, pi. xxx, p. 421 : Arch.Journ. xix, 327 ; H. Clifford 'ivcMn, Jcwelkry, p. 72 and pi. xiii, fig. 5. Ethelwulf, father of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, reigned between A. D. 836 and 858.
In Early Christian art peacocks are more usually separated by a vase, or by a disk containing the sacred monogram. The horn or sacred tree of Persia had, however, entered Christian art before this period, having been introduced through textiles and other works of minor art. It usually stands between quadrupeds or monsters, and has the most varied forms, in many cases so conventionalized that all resemblance to a tree is lost.
Anglo-Saxon art appears to have derived such oriental motives not directly from the East, but mediately through Italy and France. The half-barbaric treatment of the peacocks may be compared with that of the Agnus Dei on the ring of Ethels with (no. 180).
A third nielloed .Anglo-Saxon ring, dated through an inscription referring to a historic personage, is that of Alhstan, Bishop of Sherborne (a.d. 824-67), in the Victoria and Albert Museum {Arch. Jonrn., as above, p. 327 and fig. 4; H. Clifford Smith, as above, p. 71 and pi. xiii, fig. 9).
3°
CATALOGUE OF FINGER-RINGS
The .\nglo-Saxons enjoyed a repuution as goldsmiths and silversmiths reaching far beyond the limits of their own countrj-. Anglo-Saxon work is often mentioned in the Uber Po?itiJicalis, and some entries specify the use of niello. King Egbert, visiting Rome in A. D. S58, took silver vessels with him. See Arch.uologia, bd, pp. 3:9, 360, and S. J. Beissel, Ziifschrift fiir christ- liche Kunst, ix, pp. 364 ff. (1896).
180. Gold ; plain hoop expanding at the shoulders, which with the bezel are chased with designs upon a nielloed ground. The bezel is circular, with pearled border : it is ornamented with a medallion inscribed in a quatrefoil and containing the Agtius Dei between letters A and Ef ; the leaves of the quatrefoil and the spaces between them are chased with foliage. Each shoulder has a semi- circular panel with pearled border, containing a monster on a ground of niello. Inside the ring is engraved the legend : -f- EA 0ELSVI0 REGNA.
Plate II, and see figure. Late Saxon.
D. I-02 in. D. of bezel, 72 in. Weight, 313 grains. Found between Aberford and Sherbum in the West Riding, Yorkshire.
Proc. Soc. Ant. London, 2nd ser., vi, p. 305 : H. Clifford Smith, /ra'.?/- ler)', p. 72 and pi. xiii ; Victoria County History : Yorkshire, vol. ii, p. 98.
The owner of this ring was Ethelswith, Queen of Mercia (a.d. 855-89I, and sister ot Alfred the Great. The form 0, intended to represent the sound //;, is unusual : but D occurs on a copy of a coin of Edgar (d. x. D. 975) set in a brooch in the British Museum (R. .-X. Smith in Proc. Soc. Ant. xix, p. 210).
The letters on either side of the Agnus Dei may be intended to represent those two words, as each has a mark of abbreviation above it. The 0 may, however, stand for a Greek 6, in which case the words might be : 'Afwbs Ofoi.
181. Gold : a plain hoop, the exterior pearled along the upper and lower edges, and bearing a legend reser\-ed in the metal upon a background of