FINGER-RING LORE
LONDON: PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
AND PARLIAMENT STREET
FINGER-RING LORE
_HISTORICAL, LEGENDARY, ANECDOTAL_
BY WILLIAM JONES, F.S.A.
_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS_
London
CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY
1877
TO MY WIFE:
[Illustration: _A pledge of Happy Wedded Life_]
=Bon Cœur: Sans Peur.=
PREFACE.
I had intended to confine my observations exclusively to the subject of
‘ring superstitions,’ but in going through a wide field of olden
literature I found so much of interest in connection with rings generally,
that I have ventured to give the present work a more varied, and, I trust,
a more attractive character.
The importance of this branch of archæology cannot be too highly
appreciated, embracing incidents, historic and social, from the earliest
times, brought to our notice by invaluable specimens of glyptic art, many
of them of the purest taste, beauty, and excellency; elucidating obscure
points in the creeds and general usages of the past, types for artistic
imitation, besides supplying links to fix particular times and events.
In thus contributing to the extension of knowledge, the subject of
ring-lore has a close affinity to that of numismatics, but it possesses
the supreme advantage of appealing to our sympathies and affections. So
Herrick sings of the wedding-ring:
And as this round
Is nowhere found
To flaw, or else to sever,
So let our love
As endless prove,
And pure as gold for ever!
It must be admitted that in many cases of particular rings it is sometimes
difficult to arrive at concurrent conclusions respecting their date and
authenticity: much has to be left to conjecture, but the pursuit of
enquiry into the past is always pleasant and instructive, however
unsuccessful in its results. One of our most eminent antiquarians writes
to me thus: ‘We must not take for granted that everything in print is
correct, for fresh information is from time to time obtained which shows
to be incorrect that which was previously written.’
My acknowledgments are due to friends at home and abroad, whose
collections of rings have been opened for my inspection with true masonic
cordiality.
I have also to thank the publishers of this work for the liberal manner in
which they have illustrated the text. Many of the engravings are from
drawings taken from the gem-room of the British, and from other museums,
and from rare and costly works on the Fine Arts, not easily accessible to
the general reader. Descriptions of rings without pictorial
representations would (as in the case of coins) materially lessen their
attraction, and would render the book what might be termed ‘a garden
without flowers.’
In conclusion I will adopt the valedictory lines of an old author, who
writes in homely and deprecatory verse:
FOR HERDE IT IS, A MAN TO ATTAYNE
TO MAKE A THING PERFYTE, AT FIRST SIGHT,
BUT WAN IT IS RED, AND WELL OVER SEYNE
FAUTES MAY BE FOUNDE, THAT NEVER CAME TO LYGHT,
THOUGH THE MAKER DO HIS DILIGENCE AND MIGHT.
PRAYEING THEM TO TAKE IT, AS I HAVE ENTENDED,
AND TO FORGYVE ME, YF THAT I HAVE OFFENDED.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD 1
II. RING SUPERSTITIONS 91
III. SECULAR INVESTITURE BY THE RING 177
IV. RINGS IN CONNECTION WITH ECCLESIASTICAL USAGES 198
V. BETROTHAL AND WEDDING RINGS 275
VI. TOKEN RINGS 323
VII. MEMORIAL AND MORTUARY RINGS 355
VIII. POSY, INSCRIPTION, AND MOTTO RINGS 390
IX. CUSTOMS AND INCIDENTS IN CONNECTION WITH RINGS 419
X. REMARKABLE RINGS 457
APPENDIX 499
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Egyptian gold signet-ring 2
Egyptian bronze rings 4
Egyptian signet-rings 6
Egyptian porcelain ring 9
Egyptian mummy, rings on the fingers of an 10
Egyptian gold ring from Ghizeh 11
Etruscan ring with chimeræ 15
Roman-Egyptian ring 15
Modern Egyptian rings 17
Modern Egyptian ring with double keepers 17
Etruscan ring representing the car of Admētus 19
Etruscan rings with serpents and beetle 19
Etruscan ring with scarabæus 20
Etruscan ring with representation of two spirits in combat 20
Etruscan ring with intaglio 21
Greek and Roman rings 22
Late Roman rings 23
Ring found at Silchester 24
Ring of a group pattern 24
Ancient plain rings 24
Iron ring of a Roman knight 25
Roman ring, crescent-shaped 26
Roman ring of coloured paste 28
Gallo-Roman ring representing a cow or bull 29
Roman thumb-ring 29
Roman ring, with a representation of Janus 32
Roman ring, with figures of Egyptian deities 32
Roman ring, with busts; from the Musée du Louvre 33
Roman ring, with head of Regulus 34
Roman rings from Montfaucon 36, 37, 38
Roman ring in the Florentine Cabinet 39
Roman ‘memorial’ gift-rings 41
Anglo-Roman 41
Anglo-Roman and Roman rings 42
Roman rings found at Lyons 43
Roman bronze ring of a curious shape 44
Roman key-rings 45
Roman rings, with inscription and monogram 47
Roman ‘legionary’ ring 47
Roman ‘legionary’ ring 48
Roman amber and glass rings 48
Byzantine ring, from Montfaucon 49
Byzantine ring, found at Constantinople 49
Rings from Herculaneum and Pompeii 49
Roman bronze ring 50
Roman ‘trophy’ ring 50
Roman ring, from the Museum at Mayence 50
Roman key-rings 51
Roman, late, from the Waterton Collection 52
Anglo-Saxon rings 53
Early British (?) ring found at Malton 54
Ring of King Ethelwulf 54
Anglo-Saxon rings 58
Early Saxon rings found near Salisbury 59
South Saxon ring found in the Thames 60
Ancient Irish rings found near Drogheda 61
Early Irish gold ring 62
The ‘Alhstan’ ring 62
Anglo-Saxon ring found near Bosington 63
Rings found at Cuerdale, near Preston 64
Rings in the Royal Irish Academy 65
Spiral silver ring, found at Lago 66
Ring found at Flodden Field 66
Figured ring supposed to represent St. Louis 67
Rings found in Pagan graves 68
Rings of the Frankish and Merovingian periods 69, 70
Gold ‘Middle Age’ ring, from the Louvre 71
Rings on the effigy of Lady Stafford 72
Enamelled floral ring 75
‘Merchant’s Mark’ rings 75, 87
Ring of the sixteenth century 76
Ring of Frederic the Great 76
Venetian ring 76
Italian diamond-pointed ring 76
Italian symbolical ring 77
Venetian ring 78
East Indian ring, with drops of silver 78
Indian rings 79
Spanish ring 79
‘Giardinetti’ or guard rings 79
French rings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries 80
‘Escutcheon’ ring, French 81
French rings 81, 82, 83
Moorish rings 82
Bavarian peasant’s ring 84
Thumb-rings 89, 90, 139
Divination-rings 101, 102
Roman amulet-rings 104, 105, 107
Astrological ring 108
Zodiacal ring 110
Amulet rings 126, 138, 141, 151, 152
Charm-rings 133, 153
Talismanic rings 134, 135, 136
Cabalistic rings 139, 147
Mystical rings 140
Rings of the Magi 143
Rings with mottoes, worn as medicaments 148
Rings, Runic 150
Toadstone rings 157, 158
Cramp rings 163, 165
Serjeant’s ring 190
Ring of the ‘Beef Steak’ Club 193
The Fisherman’s Ring 199
Ring of Thierry, Bishop of Verdun 204
Ring of Pope Pius II. 206
Papal rings 208
Episcopal rings 217, 226, 230, 231
Episcopal thumb-ring 219
Ring of Archbishop Sewall 225
Ring of Archbishop Greenfield 225
Ring of Bishop Stanbery 226
Decade ring with figure of St. Catherine (?) 249
Decade thumb-ring 249
Silver decade ring 250
Decade ring found near Croydon 250
Decade signet-ring 251
Decade rings 251, 252
Decade ring of Delhi work 253
Trinity ring 254
Religious rings 254, 255, 256, 260, 261, 262, 263
‘Paradise’ rings 257
Reliquary ring 257
Early Christian rings 258, 259, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273
Ecclesiastical ring 264
Pilgrim ring 264
Roman key-rings 294
Hebrew marriage and betrothal rings 299, 300, 302
Byzantine ring 304
Betrothal ring 307
Half of broken betrothal ring 309
Jointed betrothal ring 314
Gemmel ring, found at Horselydown 316
Ring with representation of Lucretia 318
Wedding-ring of Sir Thomas Gresham 319
Gemmel ring 319
‘Claddugh’ ring 320
Betrothal ring with sacred inscription 321
Devices on wedding rings 322
The ‘Devereux’ ring 338
The ‘Essex’ ring 342
Old mourning ring 360
Memorial rings, Charles I. 366, 367, 370
Royalist memorial ring 370
Memorial and mortuary rings 373
Squared-work diamond ring found in Ireland 380
Mortuary rings at Mayence 381, 382
Gold rings from Etruscan sepulchres 383
Ring found at Amiens 383
Ring found in the tomb of William Rufus, Winchester Cathedral 385
Ring discovered in Winchester Cathedral 385
Ring of Childeric 386
Motto and device rings 390, 406
Posy-ring 391, 417
Inscription rings 410, 411, 412, 417
New Year’s gift ring 421, 422
Poison-rings 433
Dial-rings 452, 453
Signet-ring of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Darnley ring 460
Supposed ring of Roger, King of Sicily 465
The Worsley seal-ring 467
Ring of Saint Louis 469
Ring-devices of the Medici family 472, 473
Ring found at Kenilworth Castle 474
Heraldic ring 481
Martin Luther’s betrothal and marriage rings 481, 482, 483
Shakspeare’s ring (?) 484
Initials of Sir Thomas Lucy, at Charlecote Hall 486
Ivory-turned rings 488
Squirt ring 494
FINGER-RING LORE.
CHAPTER I.
RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD.
The use of signet-rings as symbols of great respect and authority is
mentioned in several parts of the Holy Scriptures, from which it would
seem that they were then common among persons of rank. They were sometimes
wholly of metal, but frequently the inscription was borne on a stone, set
in gold or silver. The impression from the signet-ring of a monarch gave
the force of a royal decree to any instrument to which it was attached.
Hence the delivery or transfer of it gave the power of using the royal
name, and created the highest office in the State. In Genesis (xli. 42) we
find that Joseph had conferred upon him the royal signet as an insignia of
authority.[1] Thus Ahasuerus transferred his authority to Haman (Esther
iii. 12). The ring was also used as a pledge for the performance of a
promise: Judah promised to send Tamar, his daughter-in-law, a kid from
his flock, and for fulfilment left with her (at her desire) his signet,
his bracelet, and his staff (Genesis xxxviii. 17, 18).
Darius sealed with his ring the mouth of the den of lions (Daniel vi. 17).
Queen Jezebel, to destroy Naboth, made use of the ring of Ahab, King of
the Israelites, her husband, to seal the counterfeit letters ordering the
death of that unfortunate man.
The Scriptures tell us that, when Judith arrayed herself to meet
Holofernes, among other rich decorations she wore bracelets, ear-rings,
and rings.
The earliest materials of which rings were made was of pure gold, and the
metal usually very thin. The Israelitish people wore not only rings on
their fingers, but also in their nostrils[2] and ears. Josephus, in the
third book of his ‘Antiquities,’ states that they had the use of them
after passing the Red Sea, because Moses, on his return from Sinai, found
that the men had made the golden calf from their wives’ rings and other
ornaments.
Moses permitted the use of gold rings to the priests whom he had
established. The nomad people called Midianites, who were conquered by
Moses, and eventually overthrown by Gideon (Numbers xxxi.), possessed
large numbers of rings among their personal ornaments.
The Jews wore the signet-ring on the right hand, as appears from a passage
in Jeremiah (xxii. 24). The words of the Lord are uttered against
Zedekiah: ‘though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, were the
signet on my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence.’
We are not to assume, however, that all ancient seals, being signets, were
rings intended to be worn on the hand. ‘One of the largest Egyptian
signets I have seen,’ remarks Sir J. G. Wilkinson, ‘was in possession of a
French gentleman of Cairo, which contained twenty pounds’ worth of gold.
It consisted of a massive ring, half an inch in its largest diameter,
bearing an oblong plinth, on which the devices were engraved, 1 inch long,
6/10ths in its greatest, and 4/10ths in its smallest, breadth. On one side
was the name of a king, the successor of Amunoph III., who lived about
fourteen hundred years before Christ; on the other a lion, with the legend
“Lord of Strength,” referring to the monarch. On one side a scorpion, and
on the other a crocodile.’
This ring passed into the Waterton Dactyliotheca, and is now the property
of the South Kensington Museum.
[Illustration: Egyptian Bronze Rings.]
Rings of inferior metal, engraved with the king’s name, may, probably,
have been worn by officials of the court. In the Londesborough collection
is a bronze ring, bearing on the oval face the name of Amunoph III., the
same monarch known to the Greeks as ‘Memnon.’ The other ring, also of
bronze, has engraved on the face a scarabæus. Such rings were worn by the
Egyptian soldiers.
In the British Museum are some interesting specimens of Egyptian rings
with representations of the scarabæus,[3] or beetle. These rings generally
bear the name of the wearer, the name of the monarch in whose reign he
lived, and also the emblems of certain deities; they were so set in the
gold ring as to allow the scarabæus to revolve on its centre, it being
pierced for that purpose.
Colonel Barnet possesses an Egyptian signet-ring formed by a scarabæus set
in gold. It was found on the little finger of a splendid gilded mummy at
Thebes. In all probability the wearer of the ring had been a royal scribe,
as by his side was found a writing-tablet of stone. On the breast was a
large scarabæus of green porphyry, set in gold.
The Rev. Henry Mackenzie, of Yarmouth, possesses an Egyptian scarabæus, a
signet-ring, set with an intaglio, on cornelian, found in the bed of a
deserted branch of the Euphrates, in the district of Hamadân in Persia.
The engraving is unfinished, the work is polished in the intaglio, and the
date has therefore been supposed not later than the time of the Greeks in
Persia, _circa_ 325 B.C.
[Illustration: Egyptian Signet-rings.]
The representations here given illustrate the large and massive Egyptian
signet-ring, and also a lighter kind of hooped signet, ‘as generally worn
at a somewhat more recent period in Egypt. The gold loop passes through a
small figure of the sacred beetle, the flat under-side being engraved with
the device of a crab.’
In the British Museum, in the first Egyptian Room, is the signet-ring of
Queen Sebek-nefru (Sciemiophris). ‘Sebek’ was a popular component of
proper names after the twelfth dynasty, probably because this queen was
beloved by the people. On Assyrian sculptures are found armlets and
bracelets; rings do not appear to have been generally worn.
At a meeting of the Society of Biblical Archæology, in June 1873, Dr. H.
F. Talbot, F.R.S., read an interesting paper on the legend of ‘Ishtar
descending to Hades,’ in which he translated from the tablets the
goddess’s voluntary descent into the Assyrian _Inferno_. In the cuneiform
it is called ‘the land of no return.’ Ishtar passes successively through
the seven gates, compelled to surrender her jewels, viz. her crown,
ear-rings, head-jewels, frontlets, girdle, _finger-_ and toe-_rings_, and
necklace. A cup full of the Waters of Life is given to her, whereby she
returns to the upper world, receiving at each gate of Hades the jewels she
had been deprived of in her descent.
Mr. Greene, F.S.A., has an Egyptian gold ring, formerly in the possession
of the late Mr. Salt, belonging to the nineteenth dynasty, probably from
the Lower Country, below Memphis. It is engraved with a representation of
the goddess Nephthis, or Neith. Another gold ring of a later period, from
the Upper Country, dates, probably, from the time of Psammitichus, B.C.
671 to 617.
In the collection of Egyptian antiquities formed by the late R. Hay, Esq.,
of Limplum, N.B., were two Græco-Egyptian gold rings, found, it is
conjectured, in the Aasa-seef, near Thebes. One of these is of the usual
signet form, but without an inscription; the other is of an Etruscan
pattern, and is composed of a spiral wire, whose extremities end in a
twisted loop, with knob-like intersections. Both these objects are of fine
workmanship, and are wrought in very pure gold. Sir J. G. Wilkinson, in
‘Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,’ remarks: ‘The rings were
mostly of gold, and this metal seems always to have been preferred to
silver for rings and other articles of jewellery. Silver rings are,
however, occasionally to be met with, and two in my possession, which were
accidentally found in a temple at Thebes, are engraved with hieroglyphics,
containing the name of the royal city. Bronze was seldom used for rings;
some have been discovered of brass and iron (of a Roman time), but ivory
and blue porcelain were the materials of which those worn by the lower
classes were usually made.’
The Rev. C. W. King observes: ‘I have seen finger-rings of ivory of the
Egyptian period, their heads engraved with sphinxes and figures of eyes
cut in low relief as camei, and originally coloured.’
The porcelain finger-rings of ancient Egypt are extremely beautiful, the
band of the ring being seldom above one eighth of an inch in thickness.
Some have a plate in which in bas-relief is the god Baal, full-faced,
playing on the tambourine, as the inventor of music; others have their
plates in the shape of the right symbolical eye, the emblem of the sun, of
a fish of the perch species, or of a scarabæus. Some few represent
flowers. Those which have elliptical plates with hieroglyphical
inscriptions bear the names of Amen-Ra, and of other gods and monarchs, as
Amenophis III., Amenophis IV., and Amenmest of the eighteenth and
nineteenth dynasties. One of these rings has a little bugle on each side,
as if it had been strung on the beaded work of a mummy, instead of being
placed on the finger. Blue is the prevalent colour, but a few white and
yellow rings, and some even ornamented with red and purple colours, have
been discovered. It is scarcely credible that these rings, of a substance
finer and more fragile than glass, were worn during life, and it seems
hardly likely that they were worn by the poorer classes, for the use of
the king’s name on sepulchral objects seems to have been restricted to
functionaries of state. Some larger rings of porcelain of about an inch in
diameter, seven-eighths of an inch broad, and one-sixteenth of an inch
thick, made in open work, represents the constantly-repeated
lotus-flowers, and the god Ra, or the sun, seated and floating through the
heavens in his boat.
At the Winchester meeting of the Archæological Institute in 1845 a curious
swivel-ring of blue porcelain was exhibited, found at Abydus in Upper
Egypt; setting modern. It has a double impression: on the one side is the
king making an offering to the gods, with the emblems of life and purity;
on the other side the name of the monarch in the usual ‘cartouche,’ one
that is well known, being that of Thothmes III., whom Wilkinson supposes
to have been the Pharaoh of Exodus. It is worthy of remark that this
cartouche is ‘supported’ by asps, which are usually considered to be the
attributes of royalty.
[Illustration: Egyptian Porcelain Ring.]
The annexed engraving represents an Egyptian ring, _en pâte céramique_,
from M. Dieulafait’s ‘Diamants et Pierres Précieuses.’
The signet of Sennacherib in the British Museum is made of Amazon stone,
one of the hardest stones known to the lapidary, and bears an intaglio
‘which,’ observes the Rev. C. W. King, ‘by its extreme minuteness, and
the precision of the drawing, displays the excellence to which the art had
already attained.’
On a mummy-case in the British Museum is a representation of a woman with
crossed hands, covered with rings; the left hand is most loaded. Upon the
thumb is a signet with hieroglyphics on the surface, three rings on the
forefinger, two on the second, one formed like a snail shell, the same
number on the next, and one on the little finger. The right hand carries
only a thumb ring, and two upon the third finger.
[Illustration: Rings on the fingers of a Mummy.]
Sir J. G. Wilkinson observes: ‘The left was considered the hand peculiarly
privileged to bear these ornaments; and it is remarkable that its third
finger was decorated with a greater number than any other, and was
considered by them, as by us, _par excellence_, the ring-finger, though
there is no evidence of its having been so honoured at the marriage
ceremony.’
The same author mentions that rings were a favourite decoration among the
Egyptians; women wore sometimes two or three on the same finger. They
were frequently worn on the thumb. Some were simple, others had an
engraved stone, and frequently bore the name of the owner; others the
monarch in whose time he lived, and they were occasionally in the form of
a snail, a knot, a snake, or some fancy device. A cat--emblem of the
goddess Bast, or Pasht, the Egyptian Diana--was a favourite subject for
ladies’ rings.
[Illustration: Egyptian Gold Ring, from Ghizeh.]
One of the oldest, if not the most ancient ring known, is supposed to be
that in the collection of Dr. Abbot, of Cairo, now preserved with his
other Egyptian antiquities at New York. It is thus described by
him:--‘This remarkable piece of antiquity is in the highest state of
preservation, and was found at Ghizeh, in a tomb near the excavation of
Colonel Vyse, called Campbell’s tomb. It is of fine gold, and weighs
nearly three sovereigns. The style of the hieroglyphics within the oval
make the name of that Pharaoh (Cheops, Shofo) of whom the pyramid was the
tomb. The details are minutely accurate and beautifully executed. The
heaven is engraved with stars; the fox or jackal has significant lines
within its contour; the hatchets have their handles bound with thongs, as
is usual in the sculptures; the volumes have the strings which bind them
hanging below the roll--differing in this respect from any example in
sculptured or painted hieroglyphics. The determinative for country is
studded with dots, representing the land of the mountains at the margin of
the valley of Egypt. The instrument, as in the larger hieroglyphics, has
the tongue and semi-lunar mark of the sculptured examples; as is the case
also with the heart-shaped vase. The name is surmounted with the globe and
feathers, decorated in the usual manner; and the ring of the cartouche is
engraved with marks representing a rope, never seen in the sculptures; and
the only instance of a royal name similarly encircled is a porcelain
example in this collection, inclosing the name of the father of Sesostris.
The O in the name is placed as in the examples sculptured in the tombs,
not in the axis of the cartouche; the chickens have their unfledged wings;
the cerastes its horns, now only to be seen with a magnifying glass.’
In a lecture to the deaf and dumb in St. Saviour’s Hall, Oxford Street,
London (October 1875), on ‘Eastern Manners and Customs,’ amongst various
relics exhibited was the hand of a female mummy, on one finger of which
was a gold ring, with the signet of one of the Pharaohs.
A gold ring exhibited at the exhibition of antiquities at the Ironmongers’
Hall, in 1861, had hieroglyphics meaning ‘protected by the living goddess
Mu.’
Among some interesting specimens of Egyptian rings exhibited at the South
Kensington Loan Exhibition of 1872 I may mention an antique ring of pale
gold, with a long oval bezel chased in intaglio, with representation of a
_sistrum_ (timbrel, used by the Egyptians in their religious ceremonies),
the property of Viscount Hawarden; an antique ring of pale gold (belonging
to Lady Ashburton), formed of a slender wire, the ends twisted round the
shoulders, upon which is strung a signet, in form of a cat, made of
greenish-blue glazed earthenware.
From the collection of R. H. Soden Smith, Esq. F.S.A., an ancient pale
gold ring, with revolving cylinders of lapis-lazuli, engraved with
hieroglyphics; the shoulders of the hoop wrapped round with wire ornament.
The Waterton Collection contains Egyptian rings of various descriptions:
one of silver, with revolving bezel of cornelian representing the
symbolical right eye. Several rings of glazed earthenware; one of gold,
very massive, with revolving scarab of glazed earthenware, partially
encased in gold. A gold ring, the hoop of close-corded work, revolving
bezel with blood-stone scarab, engraved with Hathor and child. The same
engraving is on a gold signet-ring, with vesica-shaped bezel, and upon a
white-metal ring, where the figures are surrounded by lotus-flowers.
Another gold signet-ring is engraved with the figure of Amen-ra; a
probably Egyptian white-metal ring, with narrow oblong bezel, engraved
with a frieze of figures, and winged Genii, divided by candelabra.
Several of the Egyptian rings in the Museum of the Louvre at Paris date
from the reign of King Mœris. One of the oldest rings extant is that of
Cheops, the founder of the Great Pyramid, which was found in a tomb there.
It is of gold, with hieroglyphics.
The Egyptian glass-workers produced small mosaics of the most minute and
delicate finish, and sufficiently small to be worn on rings.
Dr. Birch, in a very interesting paper communicated to the Society of
Antiquaries, at the meeting of November 17, 1870, observes, with regard to
the scarabæi and signet-rings of the ancient Egyptians, that the use of
these curious objects (the exhibition comprising upwards of five hundred
scarabs from the collection of Egyptian antiquities formed by the late R.
Hay, Esq., of Sinplum, N.B., to which I have alluded) dates back from a
remote period of Egyptian history. ‘As it is well known, they were not
merely made in porcelain, but also in steatite, or stea-schist, and the
various semi-precious stones suitable for engraving, such as cornelian,
sard, and such-like.’ In the time of the twelfth dynasty the cylindrical
ring, also found in use among the Assyrians and Babylonians, came into
vogue. The hard stones and gems were of later introduction, probably under
the influence of Greek art, for the ancient Egyptians themselves do not
appear to have possessed the method of cutting such hard substances. A
few, however, exist, which are clearly of great antiquity--as, for
example, a specimen in yellow jasper now in the British Museum.
The principal purpose to which these scarabs were applied was to form the
revolving bezel of a signet-ring, the substance in which the impression
was taken being a soft clay, with which a letter was sealed.
It is singular that some of these objects have been found in rings fixed
with the plane engraved side inwards, rendering them unfit for the
purposes of sealing. It is well known that the use of these scarabs was so
extensive as to have prevailed beyond Egypt, being adopted by the
Phœnicians and the Etruscans.
On this subject the Rev. C. W. King remarks that gold rings, even of the
Etruscan period, are very rare, the signets of that nation still retaining
the form of scarabæi. ‘The most magnificent Etruscan ring known, belonging
once to the Prince de Canino, and now in the matchless collection of
antique gems in the British Museum, is formed of the fore-parts of two
lions, whose bodies compose the shank, whilst their heads and fore-paws
support the signet--a small sand scarab, engraved with a _lion regardant_,
and set in an elegant bezel of filagree-work. The two lions are beaten up
in full relief of thin gold plate, in a stiff archaic style, but very
carefully finished.’
The Waterton Collection contains a gold ring of Etruscan workmanship, of
singular beauty. It is described by Padre Geruchi, of the Sacred College,
as a betrothal or nuptial ring. It has figures of Hercules and Juno placed
back to back on the hoop, having their arms raised above their heads.
Hercules is covered with the skin of a lion, Juno with that of a goat.
[Illustration: Etruscan, with Chimeræ.]
[Illustration: Roman-Egyptian.]
Fairholt, in ‘Rambles of an Archæologist,’ describes an ancient Etruscan
ring in the British Museum, with chimeræ on it opposing each other. The
style and treatment partake largely of ancient Eastern art. There is also
in the same collection a remarkable ring having the convolutions of a
serpent, the head of Serapis at one extremity and of Isis at the other; by
this arrangement one or other of them would always be correctly posited;
it has, also, the further advantage of being flexible, owing to the great
sweep of its curve. Silver rings are rarer than those of gold in the
tombs of Etruria, and iron and bronze examples are gilt.
All the Hindoo Mogul divinities of antiquity had rings; the statues of the
gods at Elephanta, supposed to be of the highest antiquity, had
finger-rings.
The Rev. C. W. King describes a ring in the Waterton collection, of
remarkable interest--apparently dating from the Lower Empire, for the head
is much thrown up, and has the sides pierced into a pattern, the
‘_interrasile opus_, so much in fashion during those times. It is set with
two diamonds of (probably) a carat each: one a perfect octahedron of
considerable lustre, the other duller and irregularly crystallised.
Another such example might be sought for in vain throughout the largest
cabinets of Europe.’
After the conquest of Asia Alexander the Great used the signet-ring of
Darius to seal his edicts to the Persians; his own signet he used for
those addressed to the Greeks.
Xerxes, King of Persia, was a great gem-fancier, but his chief signet was
a portrait, either of himself, or of Cyrus, the founder of the monarchy.
He also wore a ring with the figure of Anaitis, the Babylonian Venus, upon
it. Thucydides says that the Persian kings honoured their subjects by
giving them rings with the likenesses of Darius and Cyrus.
* * * * *
The late Mr. Fairholt purchased in Cairo a ring worn by an Egyptian lady
of the higher class. It is a simple hoop of twisted gold, to which hangs a
series of pendant ornaments, consisting of small beads of coral, and thin
plates of gold, cut to represent the leaves of a plant. As the hands move,
these ornaments play about the finger, and a very brilliant effect might
be produced if diamonds were used in the pendants.
The rings worn by the middle class of Egyptian men are usually of silver,
set with mineral stones, and are valued as the work of the silversmiths of
Mecca, that sacred city being supposed to exert a holy influence on all
the works it originates.
[Illustration: Modern Egyptian Rings.]
A curious ring with a double keeper is worn by Egyptian men. It is
composed entirely of common cast silver, set with mineral stone. The
lowermost keeper, of twisted wire, is first put on the finger, then
follows the ring. The second keeper is then brought down upon it: the two
being held by a brace which passes at the back of the ring, and gives
security to the whole.
[Illustration: Modern Egyptian Ring, with Double Keepers.]
Tavernier states in his ‘Travels’ that the Persians did not make gold
rings, their religion forbidding the wearing of any article of that metal
during prayers, it would have been too troublesome to take them off every
time they performed their devotions. The gems mounted in gold rings, sold
by Tavernier to the King, were reset in silver by native workmen.
The custom of wearing rings may have been introduced into Greece from
Asia, and into Italy from Greece. They served the twofold purpose,
ornamental and useful, being employed as a seal, which was called
_sphragis_, a name given to the gem or stone on which figures were
engraved. The Homeric poems make mention of ear-rings only, but in the
later Greek legends the ancient heroes are represented as wearing
finger-rings. Counterfeit stones in rings are mentioned in the time of
Solon. Transparent stones when extracted from the remains of the original
iron-rings of the ancients are sometimes found backed by a leaf of red
gold as a foil.[4] The use of coloured foils was merely to deceive and
impose upon the unwary, by giving to a very inferior jewel the finest
colour. Solon made a law prohibiting sellers of rings from keeping the
model of a ring they had sold.
The Lacedæmonians, according to the laws of Lycurgus, had only iron rings,
despising those of gold; either that the King devised thereby to retrench
luxury, or not to permit the use of them.
The Etruscans and the Sabines wore rings at the period of the foundation
of Rome, 753 B.C.
The Etruscans made rings of great value. They have been found of every
variety--with precious stones, of massive gold, very solid, with engraved
stones of remarkable beauty. Among Etruscan rings in the Musée Nap. III.
the table of one offers a representation, enlarged, of the story of
Admētus, the King of Pheræ in Thessaly. He took part in the expedition of
the Argonauts, and sued for the hand of Alcestis, the daughter of Pelias,
who promised him to her on condition that he should come to her in a
chariot drawn by lions and boars. This feat Admētus performed by the
assistance of Apollo, who served him, according to some accounts, out of
attachment to him, or, according to others, because he was obliged to
serve a mortal for one year, for having slain the Cyclops.
[Illustration: Etruscan (Admētus).]
[Illustration: Representation of Admētus.]
[Illustration: Etrusca.]
Among rings taken out of the tombs there are some in the form of a knot or
of a serpent. They are frequently found with shields of gold, and of that
form which we call Gothic, that is elliptical and pointed, called by
foreigners _ogive_, with raised subjects chiselled on the gold, or with
onyxs of the same form, but polished and surrounded with gold. There are
some particular rings which appear more adapted to be used as seals than
rings, and they have on the shields, relievos of much more arched, and
almost Egyptian, form.[5]
[Illustration: Etruscan.]
[Illustration: Etruscan.]
Among the antique jewels at the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris are two
fine specimens of Etruscan rings. One is of gold, on which is a scarabæus
in cornelian; the stomach of the scarabæus is engraved hollow and
represents a naked man holding a vase. The other is a gold ring found in a
tomb at Etruria, of which the bezel, sculptured in relief, could not serve
as a seal. The subject is a divinity combating with two spirits, a
representation of the eastern idea of the struggles between the two
principles of good and evil, such as are found on numerous cylinders that
come from the borders of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This analogy
between the religious ideas of the Etruscans and those of the most ancient
monuments of the East is not astonishing when it is shown that the
Etruscans, the ancient inhabitants of Italy, were originally from Asia.
The following engraving represents an intaglio on a scarabæus ring, of
fine workmanship, preserved in Vienna.
At a meeting of the Archæological Institute (May 3, 1850) the Dowager
Duchess of Cleveland exhibited a curious Roman ring of pure gold (weight
182 grains), of which an illustration is given in the Journal of the
Institute (vol. vii. p. 190). ‘It was found, with other remains, at Pierse
Bridge (AD TISAM), county of Durham, where the vestiges of a rectangular
encampment may be distinctly traced. The hoop, wrought by the hammer, is
joined by welding the extremities together; to this is attached an oval
facet, the metal engraved in intaglio, the impress being two human heads
_respectant_, probably male and female--the prototype of the numerous
“love seals” of a later period. The device on the ring is somewhat
effaced, but evidently represented two persons gazing at each other. This
is not the first Roman example of the kind found in England. The device
appears on a ring, apparently of that period, found on Stanmore Common in
1781. On the mediæval seals alluded to, the heads are usually accompanied
by the motto “Love me, and I thee,” to which, also, a counterpart is found
among relics of a more remote age. Galeotti, in his curious illustrations
of the “Gemmæ Antiquæ Litteratæ,” in the collection of Ficoroni, gives an
intaglio engraved with the words “Amo te, ama me.”’
[Illustration: Etruscan.]
The following engravings represent: A ring in the Musée du Louvre, with a
lion sculptured by a Greek artist, in an oriental cornelian; the reverse
has an intaglio of a lion _couchant_. The second, from the Webb
Collection, is that of an ancient Greek ring, of solid gold, with the
representation of a comic mask in high relief. The other, a gold ring with
a bearded mask, Roman, in the Waterton Collection at the South Kensington
Museum--also in high relief--has the shoulders thickened with fillets,
engraved with stars.
[Illustration: Greek.]
[Illustration: Greek.]
[Illustration: Roman.]
A singular discovery of Roman relics was made in 1824 at Terling Place,
near Witham, Essex, by some workmen forming a new road; the earth being
soaked by heavy rains the cart-wheels sank up to their naves. The driver
of the cart saw some white spots upon the mud adhering to the wheels,
which proved to be coins. On further search a small vase was discovered in
which had been deposited with some coins, two gold rings, which are
interesting examples of late Roman work; and representations of these, by
Lord Rayleigh’s permission, were given in the ‘Journal of the
Archæological Institute’ (vol. iii. p. 163) and are here shown. One of the
rings is set with a colourless crackly crystal, or _pasta_, uncut and _en
cabochon_; the other with a paste formed of two layers, the upper being of
a dull smalt colour, the lower dark brown. The device is apparently an
ear of corn.
[Illustration: Late Roman.]
The Hertz Collection contained a well-formed octahedral diamond, about a
carat in weight, set open in a Roman ring of unquestionable authenticity.
At the Loan Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Jewellery at the South
Kensington Museum, in 1872, John Evans Esq., F.S.A., contributed a series
of seven rings, gold and silver, Roman, set with antique stones; one very
massive, of silver and gold, set with intaglio on nicolo onyx; one with an
angular hoop, and another with beaded ornaments.
‘Though,’ remarks Mr. Fairholt, ‘a great variety of form and detail was
adopted by Greek and Roman goldsmiths for the rings they so largely
manufactured, the most general and lasting resembled a Roman ring,
probably of the time of Hadrian, which is said to have been found in the
Roman camp at Silchester, Berkshire. The gold of the ring is massive at
the face, making a strong setting for the cornelian, which is engraved
with the figure of a female bearing corn and fruit. By far the greater
majority of Roman rings exhumed at home and abroad are of this fashion,
which recommends itself by a dignified simplicity, telling by quantity and
quality of metal and stone its true value, without any obtrusive aid.’
Sometimes a single ring was constructed to appear like a group of two or
three upon the finger. Mr. Charles Edwards, of New York, in his ‘History
and Poetry of Finger Rings,’ has given an example of this kind of ring.
Upon the wide part of each are two letters, the whole forming ‘ZHCAIC,’
_mayst thou live!_
[Illustration: Ring found at Silchester.]
[Illustration: Group Pattern.]
‘The simplest and most useful form of rings, and that by consequence
adopted by people of all early nations, was the plain elastic hoop. Cheap
in construction and convenient in wear, it may be safely said to have been
generally patronised from the most ancient to the most modern times.’ An
engraving by Mr. Fairholt represents ‘the old form of a ring made in the
shape of a coiled serpent, equally ancient, equally far-spread in the old
world, and which has had a very large sale among ourselves as a decided
novelty. In fact, it has been the most successful design our ring-makers
have produced of late years.’
[Illustration: Ancient Plain Rings.]
The statues of Numa and Servius Tullius were represented with rings, while
those of the other Kings had none; which would induce the belief that the
use of rings was little known in the early days of Rome. Pliny[6] states
that the first date in Roman history in which he could trace any general
use of rings was in A.U.C. 449, in the time of Cneius Flavius, the son of
Annius. Less than a century before Christ, Mithridates, the famous King of
Pontus, possessed a museum of signet-rings; later, Scaurus, the stepson of
the Dictator, Sylla, had a collection of signet-rings, but inferior to
that of Mithridates, which, having become the spoil of Pompey, was
presented by him to the Capitol.
In Rome every freeman had the right to use the iron ring, which was worn
to the last period of the Republic, by such men as loved the simplicity of
the good old times. Among these was Marius, who, as Pliny tells us, wore
an iron ring in his triumph after the subjugation of Jugurtha. In the
early days of the Empire the _jus annuli_ seems to have elevated the
wearer to the equestrian order. Those who committed any crime forfeited
the distinction, and this shows us the estimation in which the ring, as an
emblem of honour, was regarded.
[Illustration: Iron Ring of a Roman Knight.]
We are told of Cæsar that when addressing his soldiers after the passage
of the Rubicon he often held up the little finger of his left hand,
protesting that he would pledge even to his ring to satisfy the claims of
those who defended his cause. The soldiers of the furthest ranks, who
could see but not hear him, mistaking the gesture, imagined that he was
promising to each man the dignity of a Roman Knight.
Gold rings appear to have been first worn by ambassadors to a foreign
State, but only during a diplomatic mission; in private they wore their
iron ones.
In the course of time it became customary for all the senators, chief
magistrates, and the _equites_ to wear a gold seal-ring. This practice,
which was subsequently termed the _jus annuli aurei_, or the _jus
annulorum_, remained for several centuries at Rome their exclusive
privilege, while others continued to wear the iron ring. In Plutarch’s
Life of Caius Marius he mentions that the slaves of Cornutus concealed
their master at home, and hanging up by the neck the body of some obscure
person, and putting a gold ring on his finger, they showed him to the
guards of Marius, and then wrapping up the body as if it were their
master’s, they interred it.
Magistrates and governors of provinces seem to have possessed the
privilege of conferring upon inferior officers, or such persons as had
distinguished themselves, the right of wearing a gold ring. Verres thus
presented his secretary with a gold ring in the assembly at Syracuse.
[Illustration: Roman.]
Montfaucon mentions in his ‘Antiquity Explained’ (English Edition, 1722,
vol. iii. p. 146), a Greek seal-ring, which has the shape of a crescent.
An illustration is here given of a similarly-formed Roman ring, with the
letters Q. S. P. Q., Quintanus Senatus Populusque, from the ‘Gemmæ Antiquæ
Litteratæ.’
Some wore rings of gold, covered with a plate of iron. Trimalchion wore
two rings, one upon the little finger of his left hand, which was a large
gilt one, and the other of gold, set with stars of iron upon the middle of
the ring-finger. Some rings were hollow, and others solid. The _Flamines
Diales_ could only wear the former.
During the Empire the right of granting the privilege of a gold ring
belonged to the emperors, and some were not very scrupulous in conferring
this distinction.
Severus and Aurelian granted this privilege to all Roman soldiers;
Justinian allowed all citizens of the empire to wear such rings.
But there always seems to have been a difficulty in restricting the use of
the gold ring. Tiberius (A.D. 22) allowed its use to all whose fathers and
grandfathers had property of the value of 400,000 sestertia (3,230_l._).
The restriction, however, was of little avail, and the ambition for the
_annulus aureus_ became greater than it had ever been before.
Juvenal, in his eleventh ‘Satire,’ alludes to a spendthrift who, after
consuming his estate, has nothing but his ring:--
At length, when nought remains a meal to bring,
The last poor shift, off comes the Knightly ring,
And sad Sir Pollio begs his daily fare,
With undistinguished hands, and fingers bare.
Martial attacks a person under the name of Zoilus, who had been raised
from a state of servitude to Knighthood, and was determined to make the
ring, the badge of his new honour, sufficiently conspicuous:--
Zoile, quid tota gemmam præcingere libra
Te juvat, et miserum perdire sardonycha?
Annulus iste tuus fuerat modo cruribus aptus;
Non eadem digitis pondera conveniunt.
The keeping of the imperial ring (_cura annuli_) was confided to a state
keeper, as the Great Seal with us is placed in custody of the Lord
Chancellor.
With the increasing love of luxury and show, the Romans, as well as the
Greeks, covered their fingers with rings, and some wore different ones for
summer and winter, immoderate both in number and size.[7] The accompanying
illustrations represent a huge ring of coloured paste, all of one piece,
blue colour--one of the rings of inexpensive manufacture in popular use
among the lower classes. It is smaller on one side, to occupy less space
on the index or little finger.
[Illustration: Roman.]
The following illustrates a supposed Gallo-Roman ring of outrageous
proportions, similar to those complained of by Livy (xxxiii., see
Appendix), for their extravagant size. It is of bronze, and supposed to
represent a cow or bull seated, with a bell round the neck.
Heavy rings of gold of a sharp triangular outline were worn on the little
finger in the later time of the Empire. A thumb-ring of unusual magnitude
and of costly material is represented in Montfaucon. It bears the bust in
high relief of the Empress Plotina, the consort of Trajan: she is
represented with the imperial diadem. It is supposed to have decorated the
hand of some member of the imperial family. The Rev. C. W. King mentions a
ring in the Fould Collection (dispersed by auction in 1860), the weight of
which, although intended for the little finger, was three ounces. It was
set with a large Oriental onyx, not engraved.
[Illustration: Supposed Gallo-Roman.]
[Illustration: Roman Thumb-ring.]
Juvenal alludes to the ‘season’ rings:--
Charged with light summer rings his fingers sweat,
Unable to support a gem of weight.
The custom of wearing numerous rings must have been at a comparatively
early period: it is alluded to both by Plato and Aristophanes. According
to Martial, one Clarinus wore daily no less than sixty rings: ‘Senos
Clarinus omnibus digitis gerit,’ and, what is more remarkable, he loved to
sleep wearing them, ‘nec nocte ponit annulos.’ Quintilian notices the
custom of wearing numerous rings: ‘The hand must not be overloaded with
rings, especially with such as do not pass over the middle joints of the
finger.’ Demosthenes wore many rings and he was stigmatised as
unbecomingly vain for doing so in the troubled times of the State.
Seneca, describing the luxury and ostentation of the time, says: ‘We adorn
our fingers with rings, and a jewel is displayed on every joint.’
As a proof of the universality of gold rings as ornaments in ancient
times, we are told that three bushels of them were gathered out of the
spoils after Hannibal’s victory at Cannæ. This was after the second Punic
war.
According to Mr. Waterton it is believed that gems were not mounted in
rings prior to the LXII. Olympiad.
Nero, we are informed, during his choral exhibitions in the circus, was
attended by children, each of whom wore a gold ring. Galba’s guard, of the
_Equites_, had gold rings as a distinguishing badge.
Rock crystal appears to have been much in use among the Romans for making
solid finger-rings carved out of one single piece, the face engraved with
some intaglio serving for a signet.
‘All those known to me,’ remarks the Rev. C. W. King in ‘Precious Stones,’
&c., ‘have the shank moulded into a twisted cable; one example bore for
device the Christian monogram, which indicates the date of the fashion. It
would seem that these rings superseded and answered the same purpose as
the balls of crystal carried at an earlier period by ladies in their hands
for the sake of the delicious coolness during the summer heat.’
Stone rings were in common use, formed chiefly of chalcedony. ‘It is most
probable,’ remarks the Rev. C. W. King, ‘that the first ideas of these
stone rings were borrowed by the Romans from the Persian conical and
hemispherical seals in the same material. Some of these latter have their
sides flattened, and ornamented with divers patterns, and thus assume the
form of a finger-ring, with an enormously massy shank and very small
opening, sufficient, however, to admit the little finger. And this theory
of their origin is corroborated by the circumstance that all these Lower
Roman examples belong to the times of the Empire, none being ever met with
of an early date.’
Silver rings were common: Pliny relates that Arellius Fuscus, when
expelled from the equestrian order, and thus deprived of the right of
wearing a gold ring, appeared in public with silver rings on his fingers.
Among the ancient jewels in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris is a fine
Roman ring, of which the bezel, a cornelian graved hollow, represents a
Janus with four faces.
[Illustration: Roman.]
Another Roman ring, also of gold, is attributed to the epoch of the
Emperor Hadrian. The three golden figures represented on it are those of
Egyptian deities, which have suffered under the hands of a Roman jeweller.
It is, however, possible to distinguish them as one of the most important
of the Egyptian Pantheon; that is to say, Horus, Isis, and Nephtys.
Isis-Hathor is shown with cow’s ears; she has near her Horus-Harpocrates,
her son, who is crowned with the _schent_; the mother and child rise from
a lotus flower: on the left is Nephtys, crowned with a hieroglyphic
emblem, accidentally incomplete, but the signification of which is the
name even of this divinity, ‘the lady of this house.’
[Illustration: Roman.]
Montfaucon, in his ‘L’Antiquité Expliquée,’ describes a ring with a gem
engraved representing Bellerophon, Pegasus, and the Chimæra. The hero,
riding on his famous horse, in the air, throws a dart at the monster
below, whose first head is that of a lion, the goat’s head appears on her
back, and her tail terminates in a large head of a serpent. This ring was
found on the road to Tivoli, among some ashes of a dead body.
[Illustration: Representation of a ring ornamented with busts of
divinities. From the Musée du Louvre.]
Montfaucon gives the contents of a Roman lady’s jewel box cut upon the
pedestal supporting a statue of Isis, and amongst other rich articles for
female decoration are, for her little finger, two rings with _diamonds_;
on the next finger a ring with many gems (_polypsephus_), emeralds, and
one pearl. On the _top joint_ of the same finger, a ring with an emerald.
The Roman ladies were prodigal in their display of rings: we read that
Faustina spent 40,000_l._ of our money, and Domitia 60,000_l._ for single
rings. Greek women wore chiefly ivory and amber rings, and these were less
costly and numerous than those used by men.
The Rev. C. W. King remarks of Roman rings that if of early date, and set
with good intagli, they are almost invariably hollow and light, and
consequently are easily crushed. Cicero relates of L. Piso, that ‘while
prætor in Spain he was going through the military exercises, when the gold
ring which he wore was, by some accident, broken and crushed. Wishing to
have another ring made for himself, he ordered a goldsmith to be summoned
to the forum at Cordova, in front of his own judgment-seat, and weighed
out the gold to him in public. He ordered the man to set down his bench in
the forum, and make the ring for him in the presence of all, to prove that
he had not employed the gold of the public treasury, but had made use only
of his broken ring.’
The signs engraved on rings were very various, including portraits of
friends and ancestors, and subjects connected with mythology and religion.
In the reign of Claudius no ring was to bear the portrait of the emperor
without a special licence, but Vespasian, some time after, issued an
edict, permitting the imperial image to be engraven on rings and brooches.
Besides the figures of great personages, there were also representations
of popular events: thus, on Pompey’s ring, like that of Sylla, were three
trophies, emblems of his three victories in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
After the murder of this great general, his seal-ring, as Plutarch tells
us, was brought to Cæsar, who shed tears on receiving it. The Roman senate
refused to credit the news of the death of Pompey, until Cæsar produced
before them his seal-ring.
[Illustration: Head of Regulus, between cornucopiæ.]
On the ring of Julius Cæsar was a representation of an armed Venus, as he
claimed to be a descendant of the goddess. This device was adopted by his
partisans; on that of Augustus, first a sphinx; afterwards the image of
Alexander the Great, and at last, his own portrait, which succeeding
emperors continued to use.[8]
Among the ancients the figures engraved on rings were not hereditary, and
each assumed that which pleased him. Numa had made a law prohibiting
representations of the gods, but custom abrogated the ordinance, and the
Romans had engraved in their rings not only figures of their own deities,
but those of other countries, especially of the Egyptians. The physician
Asclepiades had a ring with Urania represented upon it. Scipio the African
had a sphinx; Cornelius Scipio Africanus, younger son of the great
Africanus, wore the portrait of his father, but as his conduct was
unworthy of the character of his illustrious sire the people expressed
their disgust by depriving him of the ring. Sylla had a Jugurtha; the
Epicureans, a head of Epicurus; Commodus, an Amazon, the portrait of his
mistress Martia; Aristomenes, an Agathocles, King of Sicily; Callicrates,
a Ulysses; the Greeks, Helen; the Trojans, Pergamus; the inhabitants of
Heraclia, a Hercules; the Athenians, Solon; the Lacedæmonians, Lycurgus;
the Alexandrians, an Alexander; the Seleucians, Seleucus; Mæcenas, a frog;
Pompey, a dog on the prow of a ship; the Kings of Sparta, an eagle holding
a serpent in its claws; Darius, the son of Hystaspes, a horse; the
infamous Sperus, the rape of Proserpine; the Locrians, Hesperus, or the
evening star; Polycrates, a lyre; Seleucus, an anchor.
The Rev. C. W. King, in ‘Antique Gems,’ informs us that ‘the earliest
mention of a ring-stone in relief occurs in Seneca, who, in a curious
anecdote which he tells (“De Beneficiis,” iii. 26) concerning the informer
Maro and a certain Paulus, speaks of the latter as having had on his
finger on that occasion a portrait of Tiberius in relief upon a projecting
gem, “Tiberii Cæsaris imaginem ectypam atque eminente gemma.” This
periphrasis would seem to prove that such a representation was not very
common at the time, or else a technical term would have been used to
express that particular kind of gem-engraving.’
Among the discoveries made during some excavations at Canterbury in 1868
was a Roman ring of exceedingly pure gold, the stone being a very fine and
highly-polished onyx, engraved with a Ganymede.
At a meeting of the Archæological Institute at Norwich in 1847 a fine gold
Roman ring found at Caistor was exhibited, set with an intaglio on onyx,
the subject being the Genius of Victory. The following illustrations of
engraved Roman rings are taken from Montfaucon’s ‘L’Antiquité
Expliquée’:--
[Illustration: Gold ring, with head of Trajan, radiated.]
[Illustration: Silver ring, with head of the Empress Crispina.]
[Illustration: Head of the Emperor Gordian III.]
[Illustration: Iron ring, with head of Socrates.]
[Illustration: Gold ring, with name, Vibianæ.]
[Illustration: Iron ring, representing a shepherd and goat.]
[Illustration: Jupiter Serapis.]
[Illustration: Galba.]
[Illustration: Pan and Goat.]
[Illustration: Hygeia.]
[Illustration: Mercury.]
[Illustration: Bust, with inscription ‘Lucilla Acv. Sta. Virgo,’ formerly
in the collection of St. Geneviève; added to the splendid Cabinet of
Antiquities at Paris in 1796.]
The following engraving (from Gorlæus) refers to the story of Masinissa
and Sophonisba, well known to classical readers. She was betrothed at a
very early age to the Numidian prince, but was afterwards married to
Syphax, B.C. 206. This warrior, in a battle with Masinissa, was conquered,
and Sophonisba became a prisoner to the Numidian prince, who, won by her
charms, married her. Scipio, fearing her influence, persisted in his
immediate surrender of the princess, and Masinissa, to spare her the
humility of captivity, sent her a bowl of poison, which she drank without
hesitation, and thus perished.
[Illustration: Ring with figures of Masinissa and Sophonisba.]
The portraits of Caligula and Drusilla, in an iron ring, made to turn from
one side to the other (Gorlæus):--
[Illustration: Caligula and Drusilla.]
A representation of Victory, suspending a shield to a palm-tree
(Gorlæus):--
[Illustration: Roman ring of ‘Victory.’]
With regard to the engraved representations on rings, Clemens
Alexandrinus gives some advice to the Christians of the second century:
‘Let the engraving upon the stone be either a pigeon, or a fish, or a ship
running before the wind, or a musical lyre, which was the device used by
Polycrates; or a ship’s anchor, which Seleucus had cut upon his signet;
and if it represents a man fishing, the wearer will be put in mind of the
Apostle, and of the little children drawn up out of the water. For we must
not engrave on them images of idols, which we are forbidden even to look
at; nor a sword, nor a bow, being the followers of peace, nor drinking
goblets, being sober men.’ (See Chapter IV., ‘Rings in connexion with
ecclesiastical usages,’ _religious rings_.) The Rev. C. W. King remarks
that ‘the practice of engraving licentious subjects on rings was very
prevalent in Ancient Rome. Ateius Capito, a famous lawyer of the Republic,
highly censured the practice of wearing figures of deities on rings, on
account of the profanation to which they were exposed.’
[Illustration: Roman.]
The same distinguished writer mentions an antique gold ring now in the
Florentine Cabinet, set with a cameo, which evidently shows that it
belonged to some Roman sporting gentleman, who, as the poet says, ‘held
his wife a little higher than his horse,’ for it is set with a cameo-head
of a lady, of tolerable work in garnet, and on the shoulders of the ring
are intaglio busts of his two favourite steeds; also a garnet with their
names cut in the gold on each side--_Amor_ and _Ospis_. On the outside of
the shank is the legend _Pomphonica_, ‘success to thee, Pomphius,’ very
neatly engraved on the gold.
In the possession of Captain Spratt is a remarkably fine specimen of early
Greek work, a large ring of thin gold, set with an intaglio on very fine
red sard, oval, of most unusual size, representing a figure of Abundantia
beside an altar; the edge of the setting slightly bended; the stone held
in its position by thin points of gold. This most important gem is in its
original gold setting, and was purchased in June 1845 at Milo, where it
had been found the previous year, within a short distance of the theatre,
near the position in which the Venus of Milo had been discovered about
thirty years previously.
Such was the value attached by the Romans to the setting of gems in rings,
that Nonius, a senator, is said to have been proscribed by Antony, for the
sake of a precious opal, valued at 20,000_l._ of our money, which he would
not relinquish.
The taste for engraved gems, ‘grew,’ observes the Rev. C. W. King, ‘into
an ungovernable passion, and was pushed by its noble votaries to the last
degree of extravagance. Pliny seriously attributes to nothing else the
ultimate downfall of the Republic; for it was in a quarrel about a ring at
a certain auction that the feud originated between the famous demagogue
Drusus, and the chief senator Cæpio, which led to the breaking out of the
Social War, and to all its fatal consequences.’
In the Braybrooke Collection is a gold Roman finger-ring, with two hands
clasping a turquoise in token of concord: this device, a favourite one in
mediæval times, has thus an early origin. In the same collection is a
beautiful Romano-British gold ring, chased to imitate the scales of a
serpent, which it resembles in form: the eyelet-holes have been set with
some coloured gem, or paste, now lost.
Sometimes the decoration of a ring was not confined to a single gem.
Valerian speaks of the _annulus bigemmis_, and Gorlæus gives specimens;
one, the larger gem of which has cut upon it the figure of Mars, holding a
spear and helmet, but wearing only the chlamys; the smaller gem is incised
with a dove and myrtle-branch. Engraved are two examples of the emblematic
devices and inscriptions adopted for classic rings when used as memorial
gifts. The first is inscribed,--‘You have a love-pledge,’ the
second,--‘Proteros (to) Ugiæ,’ between conjoined hands.
[Illustration: Roman ‘memorial’ gift-rings.]
The annexed illustration represents a jewelled ring of gold, considered to
be of Roman work. It is formed with nine little bosses, set with uncut
gems, emeralds, garnets, and a sapphire: one only, supposed to be a blue
spinel, is cut in pyramidal fashion.
[Illustration: Anglo-Roman.]
A similar ring, of gold, found in Barton, Oxfordshire, may, probably, be
ascribed to the same period of the Roman rule in Britain. Weight 3 dwts.
16 grains. (‘Archæological Journal,’ vol. vi. p. 290.)
[Illustration: Anglo-Roman.]
[Illustration: Roman.]
The Roman ring here given must have been inconvenient to the wearer from
its form, but may have been used as a signet. Rings were chiefly used by
the Romans for sealing letters and papers; also cellars, chests, casks,
&c.[9] They were affixed to certain signs, or symbols, used for tokens,
like what we call tallies, or tally-sticks, and given in contracts instead
of a bill, or bond, or for any sign. Rings were also given by those who
agreed to club for an entertainment, to the person commissioned to bespeak
it, from _symbola_, a reckoning; hence, _symbolam dare_, to pay his
reckoning. Rings were also given as votive offerings to the gods.
In 1841 a curious discovery was made at Lyons of the jewel-case of a
Roman lady containing a complete _trousseau_, including rings: one is of
gold, the hoop slightly ovular, and curving upward to a double leaf,
supporting three cup-shaped settings, one still retaining its stone, an
Arabian emerald. Another is also remarkable for its general form, and
still more so for its inscription, ‘Veneri et Tvtele Votvm,’ explained by
M. Comarmond as a dedication to Venus, and the local goddess Tutela, who
was believed to be the protector of the navigators of the Rhine; hence he
infers these jewels to have belonged to the wife of one of those rich
traders in the reign of Severus.
[Illustration: Roman rings, found at Lyons.]
Boeckh’s Inscriptions (dating from the Peloponnesian War) enumerate in the
Treasury of the Parthenon, among other sacred jewels, the following rings:
an onyx set in a gold ring; ditto in a silver ring; a jasper set in a gold
ring; a jasper _seal_, enclosed in gold, seemingly a mounted scarabæus; a
signet in a gold ring, dedicated by Dexilla (the two last were evidently
cut in the gold itself); two gem signets set in one gold ring; two signets
in silver rings, one plated with gold; seven signets of _coloured glass_
plated with gold (_i.e._ their settings); eight silver rings, and one gold
piece, fine (probably a Daric), a gold ring of 1½ drs. offered by
Axiothea, wife of Socles; a gold ring with one gold piece, fine, _tied_ to
it, offered by Phryniscus, the Thessalian; a plain gold ring weighing ½
dr. offered by Pletho of Ægina (a widow’s mite).
Fabia Fabiana, a Roman lady, offered in honour of her granddaughter Avita,
amongst other costly gifts, two rings on her little finger with diamonds,
on the next finger a ring with many gems, emeralds and one pearl; on the
top joint of the same ring, a ring with an emerald. ‘The notice of the two
diamond-rings and the emerald-ring on the top joint of the ring-finger
are,’ remarks the Rev. C. W. King, ‘very curious. The pious old lady had
evidently offered the entire set of jewels belonging to her deceased
grandchild for the repose of her soul.’
[Illustration: Roman.]
The annexed engraving represents a remarkably fine Roman bronze ring of a
curious shape. The parts nearest the collet are flat and resemble a
triangle from which the summit has been cut. The peculiarity of the ring
is an intaglio, here represented, cut out of the material itself,
representing a youthful head. The two triangular portions which start from
the table of the ring are filled with ornaments, also engraved hollow.
Upon it is the word VIVAS, or _Mayest thou live_; probably a gift of
affection, or votive offering.
In many of the Roman keys that have been discovered the ring was actually
worn on the finger. The shank disappears, and the wards are at right
angles to the ring, or in the direction of the length of the finger.
[Illustration: Roman ‘Key-rings.’]
When a person, at the point of death, delivered his ring to anyone, it was
esteemed a mark of particular affection. The Romans not only took off the
rings from the fingers of the dead, but also from such as fell into a very
deep sleep or lethargy. Pliny observes: ‘Gravatis somno aut morientibus
religione quadam annuli detrahuntur.’ Some have conjectured that Spartian
alludes to this custom where, taking notice in the Life of the Emperor
Hadrian of the tokens of his approaching death, he says: ‘Signa mortis hæc
habuit: annulus in quo Imago ejus sculpta erat, sponte de digito lapsus
est.’ The ring, with his own image on it, fell of itself from his finger.
Morestellus thinks they took the rings from the fingers for fear the
Pollinctores, or they who prepared the body for the funeral, should take
them for themselves, because when the dead body was laid on the pile they
put the rings on the fingers again, and burnt them with the corpse.
The custom of burning the dead lasted to the time of Theodosius the Great,
as Gothofredus states. Macrobius, who lived under Theodosius the Younger,
says the custom of burning the dead had quite ceased in his time.
The Romans commonly wore the rings on the _digitus annularis_, the fourth
finger, and upon the left hand, but this custom was not always observed.
Clemens Alexandrinus remarks that men ought to wear the ring at the bottom
of the little finger, that they might have their hand more at liberty. For
Pliny’s account of this, and other ring customs, I refer the reader to the
Appendix at the end of this volume.
The clients of a Roman lawyer (remarks Fosbroke), usually presented him,
as a birthday present, with a ring, which was only used on that occasion.
Rings were given among the Romans on birthdays--generally the most solemn
festival among them, when they dressed and ornamented themselves, with as
much grandeur as they could afford, to receive their guests. Persius
alludes to the natal ring in his first Satire, in which a ring, richly set
with precious stones, figures as a part of the ceremonial.
The gladiators often wore heavy rings, a blow from which was sometimes
fatal. The ring of the first barbarian chief who entered and sacked Rome
was a curious cornelian inscribed ‘Alaricus rex Gothorum.’
In the famous Castellani Collection of Antiques, now in the British
Museum, are some splendid specimens of Roman rings: one with an uncut
crystal of diamond, a stone of great rarity, and highly prized; also a
minute votive ring set with a cameo, which probably adorned the finger of
a statuette; a curious double ring for two fingers. The early Christian
rings are very remarkable; one has a crossed ‘P’ in gold, formerly filled
with stones or enamel; another has an anchor for device, and one a ship,
emblematic of the Church.
Amongst the Greek rings in this superb collection is the most splendid
intaglio, _on gold_, ever discovered; the bust of some Berenice or
Arsinoe side by side with that of Serapis; the ring itself, plain and very
massive, is, as the Rev. C. W. King observes, ‘a truly royal signet.’
A ring in the Londesborough Collection bears the _Labarum_, the oldest
monogram of Christianity, derived from the vision in which Constantine
believed he saw the sacred emblem, and placed it on his standard with the
motto, ‘In hoc signo vinces.’ This ring came from the Roman sepulchre of
an early Christian.
An engraving of another ring in the same collection of massive silver is
inscribed SABBINA, most probably a love-gift.
[Illustration: Roman.]
The following represents a bronze ‘legionary’ ring, of oval form, with
flattened bezel, supposed to be Early Christian; obtained from Rome
(‘Arch. Journal,’ vol. xxvi. p. 146):--
[Illustration: Roman ‘Legionary’ ring.]
Another, of the same description, is more elaborate:--
[Illustration: Roman ‘Legionary’ ring.]
[Illustration: Roman.]
The collections of our English antiquaries contain numerous specimens of
Roman rings. At Uriconium several have been found of very varied
materials. Rings formed of bone, amber,[10] and glass were provided for
the poorer people, as was the case in ancient Egypt.
[Illustration: Roman amber and glass rings.]
In the later period of the Roman empire a more ostentatious decoration of
rings, derived from Byzantium, became common. In Montfaucon we find
illustrations of this change from the classical simplicity of earlier
times.
A specimen of this character is given by Montfaucon:--
[Illustration: Byzantine.]
The annexed represents a gold ring, probably of the fifth or sixth
century, found at Constantinople (‘Arch. Journal,’ vol. xxvi. p. 146):--
[Illustration: Byzantine.]
In the Museum at Naples are two fine specimens of rings discovered at
Herculaneum and Pompeii, illustrations of which are here given from the
work of M. Louis Barré, ‘Herculaneum et Pompeii’ (Paris, 1839-40):--
[Illustration: Rings from Herculaneum and Pompeii.]
A bronze ring is curious from having similar ornaments to those of the
horse-furniture discovered some years ago at Stanwick, on the estates of
the Duke of Northumberland in Yorkshire, and which are analogous in the
character of their design to those found in Roman places of sepulture in
Rhenish Germany.
[Illustration: Roman.]
Representation of a ‘trophy’ ring in the Museum of the Hermitage, St.
Petersburg; the figure of a lion on the convex; on the reverse a trophy:--
[Illustration: Roman ‘Trophy’ ring.]
[Illustration: Roman ring (from the Museum at Mayence).]
In the Waterton Collection are some valuable and curious specimens of
Greek and Roman art in ring-manufacture. These are composed of gold,
silver, bronze, iron, lead, earthenware, amber, vitreous paste, jet, white
cornelian, lapis-lazuli, chrysoprase, &c. Amongst these will be seen some
interesting Roman rings for children; one engraved with a rude figure of
Victory, found at Rietri, in 1856, diam. 9/16 in. In the same collection
are bronze ‘legionary’ rings--perhaps the number of a ‘centuria,’ some
corps employed about Rome, where all the rings of this character connected
with the collection have been found.
Among the ‘votive’ rings in this collection, is one in the form of a shoe,
inscribed FELIX, of bronze.
There are also specimens of rings with the key on the hoop, to which I
have alluded in the chapter on ‘Betrothal and Wedding Rings.’ One has a
fluted pipe; another has a key with two wards; in another the key is
riveted on the hoop.
[Illustration: Roman Key-rings.]
The earthenware rings are of brown or red. The amber rings are of mottled
deep red, set with green paste. Those in vitreous paste are of pale blue,
transparent yellowish and transparent brown. A ‘jet’ ring belongs to the
late Roman period. A white cornelian ring has a smaller part of the hoop
cut down, so as to form an oval bezel, on which is engraved a standing
figure of Æsculapius. A gold ring, Roman, set with oval intaglio, on
cornelian, of a trophy consisting of a horse’s head bridled, and two
Gallic shields crossed, with the name of Q. Cornel Lupi, is the seal of
Quintus Cornelius Lupus, commemorating a victory over the Gauls: the
setting is modern. Another gold ring, with oval bezel, set with an
intaglio on yellow sard, has a youthful bust, full-faced; on one side a
spear, on the other side, in Greek letters, ‘Hermai.’ A gold ring with
nicoli onyx is inscribed ‘VIBAS LUXURI HOMO BONE.’
Some of the ‘Early Christian’ rings in the same collection are very
interesting. These are of silver, bronze, and lead. One of silver has an
octagonal bezel engraved with the Agnus Dei; another, of bronze, has a
square bezel inscribed ‘VIVAS IN DEO’; a bronze ring with oval bezel is
chased with a lamb, the shoulders and hoop chased so as to represent a
wreath of palms; another, of bronze, has a projecting octagonal bezel,
engraved with a dove and a star, the hoop formed so as to resemble a
wreath. A massive bronze ring has the bezel engraved with the figure of an
_orante_; on the hoop is also a _sigillum_ engraved with a cross. One
ring, of lead, has a flattened bezel rudely incised with a cross.
The following engraving represents the fore-finger, from a bronze statue,
of late Roman workmanship, on which a large ring is seen on the second
joint. A similar custom prevails in Germany.
[Illustration: Late Roman (from the Waterton Collection).]
The latest ‘surprise’ in regard to rings is that in connection with Dr.
Schliemann’s discovery of antiquities upon the presumed site of Troy. The
Doctor, in June 1873, after indefatigable exertions in excavating, came
upon a _trouvaille_ consisting of ancient relics of great rarity, value,
and importance, including finger-rings, of which, as I have mentioned,
the Homeric writings make no mention. These were found among a marvellous
assemblage of bronze, silver, and gold objects, which lay together in a
heap within a small space. This seemed to indicate that they had
originally been packed in a chest which had perished in a conflagration
(most of the articles having been exposed to the action of fire), a bronze
key being found near them. The period to which these objects belong is the
subject of much controversy, but their origin must date from a very remote
period.
* * * * *
Among our British, Saxon, and Mediæval ancestors, rings were in common
use. Pliny (‘Hist. Nat.’ lib. xxxiii. c. 6) mentions, that the Britons
wore the ring on the middle finger. In the account of the gold, silver,
and jewellery belonging to Edward the First is mentioned ‘a gold ring with
a sapphire, the workmanship of St. Dunstan.’ Aldhelm, ‘_De Laud. Virg._’,
describes a lady with bracelets, necklaces, and rings set with gems on her
fingers. Rings are frequently mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon annals. They
appear to have been worn then on the finger next to the little finger, and
on the right hand--for a Saxon bard calls that the golden finger--and we
find recorded that a right hand was once cut off on account of this
ornament.
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon.]
[Illustration: Early British (?) ring, found at Malton.]
It was not uncommon for Saxon gold rings to have the name of the owner for
a legend. Some of the rings of the Anglo-Saxon period which have been
discovered would not discredit the workmanship of a modern artificer. One
of the most interesting relics of enamelled art which is exhibited in the
medal room of the British Museum is the gold ring of Ethelwulf, King of
Wessex (A.D. 837-857), the father of Alfred the Great. It was found in the
parish of Laverstock, Hampshire, in a cart-rut, where it had become much
crushed and defaced. Its weight is 11 dwts. 14 grains. This ring was
presented to the British Museum by Lord Radnor, in 1829. Ethelwulf became
later in life a monk at Winchester, where he had been educated, and he
died there. No reasonable ground can be alleged for doubting the
authenticity of this ring.[11]
[Illustration: Ring of Ethelwulf.]
M. de Laborde, in his ‘Notice des Émaux, &c., du Louvre,’ considers the
character of the design and ornament to be Saxon; and there is every
reason to suppose it was the work of a Saxon artist.
In connexion with this valuable relic is the gold ring of Æthelswith,
Queen of Mercia, the property of the Rev. W. Greenwell, F.S.A., by whom it
was exhibited at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries in January 1875.
On this occasion, A. W. Franks, Esq., Director of the Society, made the
following observations:--‘This ring is one of the most remarkable relics
of antiquity that has appeared in our rooms for many years past.
‘It was ploughed up in Yorkshire, between Aberford and Sherburn in the
West Riding, and it is said that the fortunate finder attached it to the
collar of his dog as an ornament. It is of gold, weighing 312 grains; the
outer surface is engraved, and partly filled up with niello. In the centre
of the bezel is the Agnus Dei, accompanied by the letters A.D. The second
letter has a stroke passing through it, so as to resemble the Saxon _th_.
If this stroke is not to be considered a simple contraction, it may be
intended for ἀρνὸς or ἀρνίον Φεοῦ. In the half circle on each side are
conventional animals or monsters; the whole is surrounded by a border of
dots, much worn in places. The most remarkable part of the ring, however,
is the inscription within, which is in letters large in proportion to the
surface they occupy, and which read EATHELSVITH REGNA. These letters,
excepting the two last, are in double outline. The engraver seems to have
miscalculated the space necessary, and has left out one letter towards the
end and given the NA in single lines; or, perhaps, the I and the N are
combined in a monogram.
‘The inscription is perfectly genuine, and we have, therefore, before us
the ring of Queen Æthelswith. The only person to whom, with any
probability, this inscription can be applied is Æthelswith, daughter of
Ethelwulf, and wife of Burgred or Burhred, King of Mercia. She was thus
sister to Alfred the Great. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under
the year 853 (854), Burhred, King of the Mercians, prayed in that year
King Ethelwulf to aid him in reducing the North Welsh to obedience, which
he did; the Easter after which King Ethelwulf gave his daughter in
marriage to Burhred. She appears as witness to the charter of Burhred in
855 and 857, and 866 and 869 (Kemble’s Codex, cclxxvii., cclxxviii.,
cclxxx., ccxci., ccxii., ccxcix.). In 868 we have a charter giving to her
faithful servant Cuthwulf land in Lacinge. About 872-4 she is witness to a
charter of Æthelred, Duke of Mercia. In 888 (889) we learn from the
“Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” that she died:--“And Queen Æthelswith, who was
King Alfred’s sister, died on the way to Rome, and her body lies at
Pavia.”
‘She was daughter of Ethelwulf by Osburh, daughter of Oslac, the King’s
cup-bearer, and must have been many years older than her brother Alfred,
as he was only five years old at the time of her marriage.
‘With regard to the inscription within the ring, it may be noticed that it
exhibits scarcely any traces of wear, while the edges of the ring show
marks of having been long worn. The engraving (which illustrates this
explanation in the “Proceedings of the Society”) moreover, scarcely looks
like the work of a goldsmith. I would, therefore, suggest that the Queen
had probably offered this ring at some shrine, and the priests connected
with the shrine had engraved her name within the ring, to record the royal
giver. It could scarcely have been deposited in her tomb, as she is
recorded to have been buried at Pavia.’
In the rings of King Ethelwulf and his daughter, certain
symmetrically-placed portions of the design are not filled with niello.
These may (observes Mr. Franks) have been enriched with some coloured
mastic now perished. It has been habitual to describe the inlaying of
Ethelwulf’s ring as blue enamel, which is certainly an error. Enamel was
very seldom employed by the Anglo-Saxon jeweller, and enamel and niello
could with difficulty be applied to the same object, on account of the
different heat at which these two substances melt.
An illustration of the remarkable ring of the Queen of Mercia is displayed
on the cover of this work.
Rings were given in Anglo-Saxon times to propitiate royal favours. Thus,
towards the end of the tenth century, Beorhtric, a wealthy noble in Kent,
left in his will a ring worth thirty mancuses of gold that the queen might
be his advocate that the will should stand. In the Braybrooke Collection
is a plain silver ring, inscribed on the top of the exterior of the hoop,
with the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Dolȝbot,’ the meaning of which is, compensation
made for giving a man a wound, either by a stab or blow. This ring is
ornamented by a simple wavy line, and dots, as if to represent a branch,
and was found in Essex. From its size, probably a woman’s ring--perhaps
for injury, or the death of her husband.
There are various nielloed rings of the Saxon period; notably a gold ring
with an inscription, and partly in runes, meaning ‘Alhreds owns me, Eanred
engraved (or wrought) me,’ now in the British Museum, which also has a
gold ring with two facets, found in the river Nene, near Peterborough,
engraved in the Archæological Institute Proceedings for 1856.
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon.]
Plain wire rings were used by the South Saxons; specimens have been
obtained in Anglo-Saxon grave-mounds in England, and others, identical in
form, in the old Saxon cemeteries in Germany. Mr. Fairholt says: ‘In the
museum at Augsburg are several, which were found in cutting for the
railway near that city. One of the plain wire rings’ (the first of our
illustrations) ‘was exhumed from a tumulus on Chartham Downs, a few miles
from Canterbury, in 1773, by the Rev. Bryan Faussett, who says: “The bones
were those of a very young person. Upon the neck was a cross of silver, a
few coloured earthen beads, and two silver rings with sliding knots.” The
second illustration--a wire ring, twisted so as to resemble a seal
ring--was discovered in a Saxon cemetery on Kingston Downs, Canterbury.’
[Illustration: Early Saxon rings, found near Salisbury.]
The simplest form of finger-ring worn by our ancestors, consisted of a
band of metal, merely twisted round to embrace the finger, and open at
either end. One of these rings found upon the finger-bone of an early
Saxon, in excavating at Harnham Hill, near Salisbury, was found on the
middle finger of the right hand of a person of advanced age. Sometimes
several rings were found on one hand. Among the bones of the fingers of
the left hand of an adult skeleton was found a silver ring of solid form,
another of spiral form, and a plain gold ring. Mr. Akerman, who
superintended these researches, says: ‘Similar rings have been found at
Little Wilbraham, at Linton Heath, at Fairford, and other localities.
They are, for the most part, of a uniform construction, being so contrived
that they could be expanded or contracted, and adapted to the size of the
finger of the wearer.’
[Illustration: South Saxon ring, found in the Thames.]
In the Waterton Collection is a very curious South Saxon ring, described
as ‘an elongated oval with a circular centre; within the circle is the
conventional figure of a dragon, surrounded by four convoluted ornaments,
reminding one of the prevailing enrichments so lavishly bestowed on old
Runic ornaments, at home and abroad. Four quaintly-formed heads of dragons
occupy the triangular spaces above and below this centre. The ground
between the ornaments has been cut down, probably for the insertion of
niello or enamel colour.’ It was found in the Thames at Chelsea in 1856.
At a meeting of the Royal Archæological Institute in June 1873 Mr. J. J.
Rogers exhibited some Anglo-Saxon bronze rings which were found in a cave,
in the parish of St. Keverne, Cornwall.
The Duke of Northumberland possesses a beautiful ring of pale-coloured
gold (weight 157 grains), set with a ruby-coloured gem, surrounded with
filagree work, the hoop beaded with small circles, punched, as on work of
the Saxon age. It was discovered, about 1812, by a boy who was ploughing,
near Watershaugh, Northumberland, and found the ring fixed on the point of
his ploughshare.
In the collection of R. H. Soden Smith, Esq., F.S.A., is a curious
Anglo-Saxon ring, found about ten feet below the surface of the ground, in
making Garrick Street, Covent Garden. It is of gold, the hoop nearly half
an inch wide, with a broad oval bezel, expanding to 1-3/16 inches; the
gold pale, alloyed with silver. The whole is overlaid with funiform wire
ornaments and granulated work; on the bezel are four curves of beaded
filagree radiating from the centre ornament, and having smaller bosses of
similar work between.[12]
Spiral elastic band rings of Anglo-Saxon work have been found in
considerable numbers in excavations. Douglas, in his ‘Nenia Britannica,’
describes many specimens under this term, found by him in the graves of
Anglo-Saxon tribes.
[Illustration: Ancient Irish rings, found near Drogheda.]
In the earlier history of Ireland we find instances of a wonderful
development of artistic skill in goldsmith work. The Royal Irish Academy
possesses some beautiful specimens of rings. The Londesborough Collection
includes two remarkable rings which were found with other gold ornaments
near the remarkable tumulus, known as ‘New Grange,’ a few miles from
Drogheda. They were accidentally discovered in 1842 by a labouring man,
within a few yards to the entrance of the tumulus, at the depth of two
feet from the surface of the ground, and without any covering or
protection from the earth about them. Another labouring man, hearing of
this discovery, carefully searched the spot whence they were taken, and
found a denarius of Geta. The stone set in both rings is a cut agate.
Aildergoidhe, son of Muinheamhoin, monarch of Ireland, who reigned 3070
A.M., is traditionally said to have been the first prince who introduced
the wearing of gold rings into Ireland, which he bestowed on persons of
merit who excelled in knowledge of the arts and sciences.
[Illustration: Early Irish gold ring.]
The engraving (from the ‘Archæological Journal,’ June 1848), represents a
gold ring twisted, or plaited, of early Irish work, in the fine collection
of antiquities of Edwin Hoare, Esq., of Cork.
[Illustration: The ‘Alhstan’ ring.]
The Alhstan ring, engraved and described in the ‘Archæologia’ (vol. iv. p.
47), is in the Waterton Collection. Some observations on this very
remarkable ring are given by that learned antiquary, the Rev. Mr. Pegge.
It was found by a labourer on the surface of the ground at Llysfaen in
Caernarvonshire. It is of good workmanship, and weighs about an ounce. It
bears the inscription of Alhstan, which was a common Saxon name. Mr. Pegge
appropriates the ring to the Bishop of Sherborne of that name, because
the dragon of Wessex, apparent in the first lozenge, was not only the
device on the royal standard of Wessex, but the Bishop of Sherborne had
often conducted armies under it, having been much engaged in affairs of
war. The prelate died in 867, in the beginning of the reign of Ethelred I.
[Illustration: Anglo-Saxon ring, found near Bosington.]
In the Journal of the British Archæological Association (vol. i.) is a cut
of an Anglo-Saxon gold-ring, discovered at Bosington, near Stockbridge; it
is of considerable thickness, ornamented with rich chain-work, and has in
its centre a male head, round which is inscribed ‘NOMEN EHLLA FID IN
XPO,’--my name is Ella; my faith is in Christ. It is now in the Ashmolean
Museum at Oxford.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
In 1840 at Cuerdale, near Preston, some curious discoveries of coins and
treasure were made, considered to have been deposited about the year 910,
and the ornaments such as were worn about the time of Alfred, or somewhat
earlier. These included several rings, representations of which are given
in the ‘Archæological Journal’ (vol. iv. p. 127). One is merely a piece of
metal hammered flat, thinner and narrower at the ends, and formed into a
circle; the ends lapping over, but without any fastening. It is entirely
without ornament. In some specimens the metal is hammered and bent into
the form of a ring, in the same manner as the flat one. Two rings are
formed exactly like some armlets, found at the same time; the punch has
had a triangular point, and triangles conjoined at their bases having been
struck side by side, parallel rows of sunk lozenges have been produced.
Another ring has been hammered into a small four-sided bar, then twisted,
and ultimately formed into a ring, the ends of which meet, but have not
been united. In another ring two wires have been hammered into a roundish
form, tapering towards the ends, which have been tied together. Each wire
has been ornamented by transverse blows of a blunt chisel, and has the
appearance of being also twisted; these two have been twined together to
form one ring.
In a communication from Mr. Worsaae, of Copenhagen, to the ‘Archæological
Journal,’ he observes that the triangular pattern with three or four
points on the Cuerdale rings differs totally from the designs on Celtic,
Roman, or Saxon remains, and which never seems to occur on any objects
found in the interior or southern parts of Europe. ‘To the instances which
Mr. Hawkins has already cited of similar patterns on silver objects found
in Denmark and in Finland, I can only add that I have seen precisely
similar objects with the same pattern in Ireland, Prussia, and Sweden, and
that in the interior of Russia, in _tumuli_ in the neighbourhood of
Moscow, the same patterns have been found on rings. In nearly every
instance these ornaments have been found along with oriental or Cufic
coins, as in the case at Cuerdale.’ Mr. Worsaae is of opinion that they
are of eastern origin, and were brought to the north in the same way as
the oriental coins.
In the collection of antiquities of the Royal Irish Academy there are two
curious specimens of rings; one, like a ferule, fluted both externally and
internally, so as to resemble seven plain rings, attached to one another;
and their weight is 9 dwts.
[Illustration: Rings in the Royal Irish Academy.]
The other is a five-sided bar of gold, flat on the inside near the finger,
and angular externally; weight 1 oz. 12 dwts. 6 grs. This might be
denominated a torque ring.
The following illustration represents a spiral silver ring, found at
Largo, weighing 120 grs. It is shaped, apparently, by the hammer. The
edges are serrated. A spiral ring found with Saxon remains in Kent,
engraved by Douglas in his ‘Nenia,’ and another found in the Isle of
Wight, represented in the ‘Winchester’ volume of the Archæological
Association, may be compared with the present example.
[Illustration: Spiral silver ring.]
Dr. Mantell has a massive gold ring, supposed to have been worn on the
finger, formed of two square bars rudely twisted together, and gradually
diminishing in size towards the extremities, where they are united
together. It was ploughed up at Bormer, in Sussex, and was presented to
Dr. Mantell by the Earl of Chichester. It is represented in Horsfield’s
‘History of Lewes,’ plate iv. Similar rings of this description, but
differing in the fashion of the twist, have been noticed as found in
Britain. The resemblance between these ornaments and the gold ‘ring-money’
of the interior of Africa is exceedingly curious.
[Illustration: Ring: Flodden Field.]
The annexed engraving (from the ‘Archæological Journal,’ vol. iii. p. 269)
represents a gold ring, belonging to Sir Noel Paton, F.S.A., Scotland,
reported to have been found on the field of Flodden: weight 8 dwts. 17
grs. Other rings of a similar form have been discovered, and ‘they appear
to offer some analogy with the torc of the Celtic age.’
The annexed illustration represents a remarkably fine ring engraved in
Chifflet’s ‘Anastasis Childerici’ (1655), on the same page as that of the
Childeric ring (described in the chapter on ‘Memorial and Mortuary
Rings’), for purposes of comparison, in carrying out his original theory,
that the supposed bees of Childeric were, by gradual transition, converted
into the figure known as the _fleur de lys_ of a later monarchy, as he
endeavours to illustrate by numerous diagrams, but he omits to say where
this ring marked ‘sapphirus’ was originally found. It is a mere
supposition that the figure represents St. Louis, but in Montfaucon’s
‘Monuments de la Monarchie Française’ (Paris, 1729), in a long
disquisition on the origin, &c., of the _fleur de lys_, on referring to
plate xxiii. tom. ii. p. 158, where St. Louis ‘instruit ses enfans,’ his
shield is noticed as bearing for the _first time three fleurs de lys_.
[Illustration]
Sandford, in his ‘Genealogical History’ (pp. 270, 289), says that Henry
the Fifth, being Prince of Wales, ‘did bear azure, 3 _flowers de lys or_,
for the Kingdom of France, reducing them from _semée_ to the number 3, as
did Charles VI., the present King.’
Among the old Northmen rings were generally worn by rich people and
persons of rank. Such rings are frequently found in barrows of pagan date,
and from their nature and quality it is easy to determine that they were
generally of very simple workmanship; the reason of which, undoubtedly,
was that they were used instead of money in commercial transactions, and
had, therefore, not unfrequently to be cut asunder. Still, rings of more
artistic workmanship are sometimes found in pagan graves.
[Illustration: Gold.]
[Illustration: Gold.]
[Illustration: Bronze.]
[Illustration: Gold, enamelled and inlaid.]
[Illustration: Gold.]
[Illustration: Gold.]
[Illustration: Gold.]
The preceding cuts are taken from examples in the Royal Museum,
Copenhagen, of the curious twisted spiral rings alluded to, found in the
graves of the old Northmen.
Charlemagne sealed all his acts with his ring. That of his son Louis le
Débonnaire had for inscription XPE. PROTÈGE HELLDOVICUNI. IMPERATOREM.
From the reign of Hugh Capet each King had his particular seal-ring. St.
Louis had for device a ring interlaced with a garland of lilies and
daisies, in allusion to his name and that of his queen.
Two curious rings of early date are here represented: one a seal-ring of
the Frankish period, found near Allonnes (Sarthe) bearing the monogram
Lanoberga; the other, of gold, Merovingian, found in Vitry-le-Français,
supposed to be a conjugal ring, with inscription.
[Illustration: Frankish period.]
[Illustration: Merovingian.]
The annexed illustration represents a gold ring, in the Bibliothèque
Nationale at Paris, with the initials S. R., and supposed by the Abbé
Cochet (‘La Normandie Souterraine’) to mean ‘Sigebertus Rex,’ but which
of the three Sigeberts, Kings of Austrasia (the name given, under the
Merovingians, to the eastern possessions of the Franks), cannot be
conjectured.
[Illustration: Merovingian.]
To a similar period may, perhaps, be ascribed the ring found near Blois,
represented in the following engraving:--
[Illustration: Merovingian.]
The annexed cuts represent a gold signet-ring, inscribed ‘Heva,’ and a
seal-ring, both of the Merovingian period.
[Illustration: Merovingian.]
A remarkable ring of the Merovingian period, now in the collection of R.
H. Soden Smith, Esq., F.S.A., was exhibited at the Archæological Institute
in 1874. It is a massive gold ring, with oval bezel 1¼ inches long, by 1
inch in width, set with an antique polished chalcedony of two layers, the
edges bevelled. The setting is rather more than a quarter of an inch deep,
and is formed of a band of gold, supported by perpendicular ridges, made
by folding another thick band, or ribbon, of gold; a double row of pellets
of gold, and others on the shoulder of the hoop, add to the rich effect of
the whole. The hoop is a somewhat rude angular band, with a zigzag
punched ornament round it. This ring was found in the neighbourhood of
Bristol.
* * * * *
It was in the Middle Ages, however, after a period of comparative
mediocrity, that the greatest degree of perfection in goldsmiths’ work,
and especially in rings, began to display itself. In the reign of Edward
III. (1363), so great was the extravagance in dress and decoration that an
Act was passed to repress the evil. All persons under the rank of
Knighthood, or of less property than two hundred pounds in land and
tenements, were forbidden to wear rings, and other articles of jewellery.
[Illustration: Gold ‘Middle Age’ ring, from the Louvre.]
In the ‘Vision of Pierce Ploughman,’ written, it is supposed, about this
date, the poet speaks of a richly-adorned lady, whose fingers were all
embellished with rings of gold, set with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires.
In a parchment roll of Prayers to the Virgin in the Library of Jesus
College, Oxford, which formerly belonged to Margaret of Anjou, there is a
portrait of that queen who is represented wearing two rings on each finger
except the least, placed on the middle as well as the third joint of the
fingers--a fashion probably introduced by her, and shown in the curious
portrait of this queen on the tapestry at Coventry.
In later ages we find the same practice of ornamenting the fingers with
several rings. In the description of a Scottish woman of the middle of the
sixteenth century, attributed to Dunbar, we find:--
On ilkune fyngar scho weirit ringis tuo
Scho was als proud an ony papingo.
Queen Elizabeth had an immoderate love for jewellery; and the description
given of her dresses covered with gems of the greatest rarity and beauty
reads like a romance. For finger-rings she had a remarkable fondness. Paul
Hentzner, in his ‘Journey into England,’ 1598, relates that a Bohemian
baron having letters to present to her at the palace of Greenwich, the
queen, after pulling off her glove, ‘gave him her right hand to kiss,
sparkling with rings and jewels--a mark of particular favour.’
[Illustration: Rings on the effigy of Lady Stafford.]
In Bromsgrove Church, Staffordshire, are the fine monumental effigies of
Sir Humphrey Stafford and his lady (1450)--remarkable alike for the rich
armour of the knight and the courtly costume of the lady. She wears a
profusion of rings; every finger, except the little finger of the right
hand, being furnished with one. They exhibit great variety of design. The
two hands are lifted in prayer.
‘In the Duke of Newcastle’s comedy,’ observes Mr. Fairholt, ‘the “Country
Captain” (1649), a lady of title is told that when she resides in the
country a great show of finger rings will not be necessary: “Show your
white hand, with but one diamond, when you carve, and be not ashamed to
wear your own ringe with the old posie.” That many rings were worn by
persons of both sexes is clear from another passage in the same play,
where a fop is described, ‘who makes his fingers like jewellers’ cards to
set rings upon.’
The same custom prevailed in France. Mercier, in his ‘Tableau de France,’
mentions that at the close of the eighteenth century enormous rings were
worn. The hand of a woman presented a collection of rings, ‘et si ces
bagues étaient des antiques, elles offriraient un échantillon d’un cabinet
des pierres gravées.’ He adds that ‘the nuptial ring is now unnoticed on
the fingers of women; wide and profane rings altogether conceal this
warrant of their faith.’
So important a business was the making of rings that it was separated from
the ordinary work of the goldsmith, and became a distinct trade.
In the sixteenth century, among the various articles carried by the pedlar
rings were reckoned. In Heywood’s ‘Four PP (A Newe and a very mery
Enterlude of a Palmer, a Pardoner, a Potycary, and a Pedler),’ the
Potycary addresses the Pedler:--
What the devyll hast thou there at thy backe?--
to which he replies:--
What dost thou not knowe that every pedler
In all kinde of trifles must be a medler?
Gloves, pinnes, combes, glasses unspotty’d,
Pomanders, hookes, and lases knottyed;
Broches, _rynges_, and all maner of bedes.
The instances in which brooches and rings are mentioned together are
numerous. In Scott’s edition of Sir Tristrem (pages 23, 28) we find:--
Who gaf broche and beighe (ring)?
Who but Douk Morgan?
A loud thai sett that sleigh
With all his winning yare
With broche and riche beighe.
In the Chester Mystery Plays the shepherds do not know what to present to
the Babe of Bethlehem, and Secundus Pastor says:--
Goe we nere anon, with such as we have broughte,
Ringe, broche, ner precious stoune,
Let us see yf we have oughte to proffer.
And the ‘first boye’ adds:--
Nowe Lorde for to geve thee have I no thinge,
Neither goulde, silver, broche, ner ringe.
In the old ballad of Redisdale and Wise William the lady is enticed with
rich presents:--
Come down, come down, my lady fair,
A sight of you i’ll see,
And bonny jewels, broaches, rings,
I will give unto thee.
to which she replies:--
If you have bonny broaches, rings,
Oh, mine are bonny tee,
Go from my yettes, now, Reedisdale,
For me ye shall not see.
Of the later period of ring decoration there are some splendid specimens
in various collections. Mr. Fairholt, in his ‘Facts about Finger-rings,’
has given illustrations and descriptions of two rings of this character in
the Londesborough Collection. One is decorated with floral ornament,
engraved and filled with green and red enamel colours. The effect on the
gold is extremely pleasing, having a certain quaint sumptuousness
peculiarly its own. The other specimen, a signet-ring, bears a ‘merchants’
mark’ (see notice of ‘Merchants’ marks’ at the end of this chapter) upon
its face.
[Illustration: Enamelled floral ring.]
[Illustration: ‘Merchant’s’ ring.]
In the same collection is a ring, doubtless a _gage d’amour_, the hoop of
which is richly decorated with quaint floriated ornaments, cut upon its
surface, and filled in with the black composition termed _niello_, once
extensively used by goldsmiths in enriching their works. This beautiful
ring is inscribed within the hoop, ‘=Mon Cor Plesor=,’--‘my heart’s
delight.’
There are two very beautiful examples of sixteenth century rings, one in
the Londesborough Collection, which has a ruby in a very tall setting,
enriched by enamel. The sides of the hoop are highly decorated with
flowers and scroll ornament, also richly enamelled. The other ring is in
the Waterton Collection, gold, enamelled, set with a large turquoise in
the centre, and surrounded by six raised garnets. This ring is said to
have subsequently belonged to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, whose
cipher is upon it.
[Illustration: Ring: Sixteenth Century.]
[Illustration: Ring of Frederick the Great.]
Rings of Italian workmanship of a late period are remarkably beautiful.
Venice particularly excelled in this art. In the Londesborough Collection
is a fine specimen. The four claws of the other ring in open-work, support
the setting of a sharply-pointed pyramidal diamond, such as was then
coveted for writing on glass. The shank bears a fanciful resemblance to a
serpent swallowing a bird, of which only the claws connecting the face
remain on view.
[Illustration: Venetian.]
[Illustration: Italian diamond ring.]
‘It was,’ remarks Mr. Fairholt, ‘with a similar ring Raleigh wrote the
words on a window-pane: “Fain would I rise, but that I fear to fall,” to
which Queen Elizabeth added: “If thy heart fail thee, do not rise at
all”--an implied encouragement which led him on to fortune.’[13]
The annexed engraving represents a gold symbolical ring of the sixteenth
century, enamelled, of various colours.
[Illustration: Italian.]
Two rings are described by Mr. Fairholt of a peculiar construction. One,
of Venice work, is set with three stones in raised bezels; to their bases
are affixed, by a swivel, gold pendant ornaments, each set with a garnet.
As the hand moves, these pendants fall about the finger, the stones
glittering in the movement. This fashion was evidently borrowed from the
East, where people delight in pendant ornaments, and even affix them to
articles of utility.
The other ring, of silver, is of East Indian workmanship, discovered in
the ruins of one of the most ancient temples: to its centre are affixed
bunches of pear-shaped, hollow drops of silver, which jingle with a soft,
low note as the hand moves.[14]
[Illustration: Venetian.]
[Illustration: East Indian.]
The Indians prefer rings with large floriated faces spreading over three
fingers like a shield. When made for the wealthy, in massive gold, the
flower leaves are of cut jewels, but the humbler classes are content with
them in cast silver. Representations are here given of these rings.
[Illustration: Indian.]
In Southern Europe, where jewellery is deemed almost an essential of life
and the poorest will wear it in profusion, though only made of copper, the
rings are curious and elaborate. A Spanish ring, of the early part of the
last century, has a heart, winged and crowned, in its centre: the heart is
transfixed by an arrow, but surrounded by flowers. It may possibly be a
religious emblem. Another Spanish ring, of more modern manufacture, has a
very light and elegant design. The flowers are formed of rubies and
diamonds, and the effect is extremely pleasing. Such work may have
originated the ‘giardinetti’ rings, specimens of which are seen in the
South Kensington Museum. Two are there described as English work of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They appear to have been used as
‘guards,’ or ‘keepers,’ to the wedding-ring, and are of pleasing floriated
design, and of very delicate execution.
[Illustration: Spanish.]
[Illustration: ‘Giardinetti’ rings.]
Annexed are representations of some remarkably fine rings (French) dating
from the close of the fourteenth century or the commencement of the
fifteenth.
[Illustration: French.]
A handsome ring, of silver gilt, representing St. George and the Dragon,
belongs to the end of the fifteenth century. There is a border of roses
and fleurs-de-lys around the saint.
[Illustration: French.]
[Illustration: French.]
The following examples of French art of the sixteenth century are in the
Museum of the Louvre:--
[Illustration: French.]
The annexed illustration represents an escutcheon ring (from Viollet le
Duc) of the Middle Ages, and is thus described by M. Chabouillet in his
‘Catalogue Général.’ The Cabinet of Medals at Paris possesses a ring
dating from the commencement of the fifteenth century, if one may judge
from the form of the letters, and that of the helmet engraved on the seal.
The ring is of massive gold; the arms, engraved hollow on the seal,
represent a shield, charged with a dragon, carrying (perhaps) some prey in
his jaws. On the two sides of the intaglio are two names--MARIN, PIXIAN.
On the sides of the ring are two inscriptions in relief, one only of which
is legible, and this is taken from St. Luke--‘Jesus autem transiens per
medium illorum ibat.’
[Illustration: ‘Escutcheon’ ring. French.]
The accompanying are from Chabouillet’s ‘Orfévrerie de la Rénaissance,’ in
the Fould Collection (dispersed by auction in 1860).
[Illustration: French.]
These engravings are from Labarte’s ‘Orfévrerie du XV. et XVI. Siècles’:--
[Illustration: French.]
[Illustration: French.]
The following represent rings in the Musée Sauvageot, of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries; one is elaborately wrought of chiselled iron, of
French manufacture--date, 16th century.
[Illustration: French.]
The annexed are two fine specimens of comparatively modern date; one
ending in volutes near the bezel, the other enamelled white, red, green,
and blue--a turquoise, with diamonds and rubies in settings.
[Illustration: French.]
Mr. Fairholt mentions two characteristic specimens of modern French
ring-work; one a signet ring, the face engraved with a coat of arms. At
the sides two _Cupidons_ repose amidst scroll-work partaking of the taste
of the _Rénaissance_. The same peculiarity influences the design of the
second ring; here a central arch of five stones, in separate settings, are
held by the heads and outstretched wings of _Chimæras_, whose breasts are
also jewelled. Both are excellent designs.
[Illustration: Modern French.]
[Illustration: Moorish.]
In the Londesborough Collection is a triplicate of Moorish rings, which
will enable us to understand their peculiarities. One has a large circular
face composed of a cluster of small bosses, set with five circular
turquoises and four rubies; the centre being a turquoise, with a ruby and
turquoise alternating round it. This ring is of silver. Another, of the
same material, is set with an octangular bloodstone, with a circular
turquoise on each side. There is, also, a silver signet ring, bearing the
name of its original owner, engraved on a cornelian.
[Illustration: Bavarian.]
In the South Kensington Museum is a massive and heavy brass ring, with
octagonal bezel armed with five projecting points, used as a weapon by
peasants in Upper Bavaria from about the year 1700 to the present time.
The Indians prefer rings with large floriated faces, spreading over three
fingers like a shield. When made for the wealthy in massive gold, the
flower leaves are of cut jewels, but the humbler classes, who equally love
display, are content with them in cast silver. Such a ring is in the
British Museum, where there are also two specimens of rings beside it such
as are worn by the humbler classes.
* * * * *
A curious gold ring, bearing the impress a ‘merchant’s mark,’ was
exhibited by Mr. Sully at a meeting of the Archæological Institute of
November 1851. It was found at St. Anne’s Well, near Nottingham, and the
date is about the time of Henry VI. From a representation in the ‘Journal’
the impress appears to be composed of the orb of sovereignty, surmounted
by a cross, having two transverse bars, like a patriarchal cross. The
extremities of the lower limbs terminate with the Arabic numerals, 2--0,
the cipher being transversed by a diagonal stroke, as frequently written
in early times. On one side of the hoop is seen the Virgin and Child, on
the other the Crucifix; these were originally enamelled. Within is
inscribed--=Mon Cur avez=. Weight 7 dwts. 21 grs.
A brass signet-ring found in the Cathedral Close at Hereford, bears for
impress a kind of merchant’s mark, a cross, with the lower extremity
barbed like an arrow, between the initials G. M.--now in the possession of
the Dean of Hereford.
In the Braybrooke Collection is a bronze signet-ring with a merchant’s
mark within a cable border: the mark may be intended to represent a buoy,
which would accord well with the border, supposing it to be a trader’s
cipher; the hoop is likewise twisted to imitate the strands of a rope.
This ring was found in the Thames.
In the same collection is a massive gold thumb-ring engraved as a signet,
with a merchant’s mark within a rude shield. The shoulders of the hoop are
chased with Marguerite flowers, which were commonly adopted in the reign
of Henry VI., in honour of the queen-mother, and may indicate the date of
the ring. It was found at Littlebury, Essex, in 1848. In the same
collection is a large gold thumb-ring, with a round hoop and signet, on
which is engraved the letter E of Longobardic form, within
delicately-cusped tracery, surmounted by a coronet. The hoop is inscribed
externally with the words _in. on. is. al._ (in one is all): probably
intended for a charm, of which so many forms are found upon rings of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
In the Londesborough Collection is the fine specimen (to which I have
alluded in a previous page) of a signet-ring bearing a ‘merchant’s mark.’
‘The marks,’ observes Mr. Fairholt, ‘varied with every owner, and was as
peculiar to himself as the modern autograph; they were a combination of
initials, or letter-like devices, frequently surmounted by a cross, or a
conventional sign, believed to represent the sails of a ship. The marks
were placed upon the bales of merchandise, and were constantly used where
the coat armour, or badge of a nobleman or gentleman entitled to bear arms
would be placed. The authority vested in such merchants’ rings is
curiously illustrated in one of the historical plays on the life and reign
of Queen Elizabeth, written by Thomas Heywood, and to which he gave the
quaint title: “If you know not me, you know nobody.” Sir Thomas Gresham,
the great London merchant, is one of the principal characters, and in a
scene where he is absent from home, and in sudden need of cash, he
exclaims: “Here, John, take this seal-ring, bid Timothy send me presently
a hundred pound.” John takes the ring to the trusty Timothy, saying:
“Here’s his seal-ring; I hope a sufficient warrant.” To which Timothy
replies: “Upon so good security, John, I’ll fit me to deliver it.” Another
merchant in the same play is made to obtain his wants by similar means:--
------receive thou my seal-ring:
Bear it to my factor; bid him by that token
Sort thee out forty pounds’ worth of such wares
As thou shalt think most beneficial.
The custom must have been common to be thus used in dramatic scenes of
real life. These plays were produced in 1606.’[15]
‘Merchants’ marks, which appear to have been imitated from the Flemings
during the reign of Edward the Third, and became very common during the
fifteenth and early part of the sixteenth century, both on seals and
signet-rings, offer a somewhat curious field for research, and are often
very useful in identifying the persons by whom domestic and parts of
ecclesiastical edifices on which they occur were built. They were more
generally used in the great seaports of England than in the south--a fact
which is readily accounted for by the frequent intercourse between those
ports and Flanders. It may be observed also that such marks belonged
chiefly to wool-factors, or merchants of the staple.’--_Archæological
Journal_ for March 1848.
[Illustration: Merchants’ rings.]
* * * * *
In the collections of our English antiquaries are numerous specimens of
_thumb-rings_, and in the chapter on ‘Ecclesiastical Usages in Connection
with Rings’ I have mentioned several of particular interest, notably an
effigy with a signet-ring of remarkable size represented as worn over both
the thumbs. Dr. Bruce found some thumb-rings along the line of the Roman
wall.
The custom of wearing thumb-rings is alluded to by Chaucer, in the
‘Squire’s Tale,’ where it is said of the rider of the brazen horse who
advanced into the hall, Cambuscan, that ‘upon his thumb he had of gold a
ring.’ Brome, in the ‘Antipodes,’ 1638, and also in the ‘Northern Lass:’
‘A good man in the city wears nothing rich about him but the gout, or a
thumb-ring.’
In the ‘Archæological Journal’ (vol. iii. page 268) is a representation of
a curious thumb-ring, which supplies a good example of the signet
thumb-ring of the fifteenth century. It is of silver, alloyed, or plated
with baser metal and strongly gilt. The hoop is grooved spirally, and the
initial H is engraved upon it; weight 17 dwts. 18 grs. It was found in
1846, in dredging in the bed of the river Severn, at a place called
Saxon’s or Saxton’s Lode.
Signet rings of this kind were worn by rich citizens, or persons of
substance not entitled to bear arms. Falstaff bragged that in his earlier
years he had been so slender in figure that he could readily have crept
through an ‘alderman’s thumb-ring,’ and a ring thus worn--probably, as
more conspicuous--appears to have been considered as appropriate to the
customary attire of a civic dignitary at a much later period. A character
in the Lord Mayor’s show in 1664 is described as ‘habited like a grave
citizen--gold girdle and gloves hung thereon, rings on his fingers, and a
seal-ring on his thumb.’
In Labartes ‘Hand-book of the Fine Arts in the Middle Ages’ is a
representation of a fine thumb-ring, of Hindoo workmanship, cut out of a
single piece of jade, decorated with gold filagree, and incrusted with
rubies.
A magical thumb-ring of gilt, bearing the figure of a toad, and of German
workmanship of the fourteenth century is in the Londesborough Collection,
and is described in the chapter on ‘Ring Superstitions.’ The annexed
representation is from a ring in the same collection.
[Illustration: Thumb-ring.]
The figure of a morse ivory thumb-ring of an Earl of Shrewsbury, belonging
to Dr. Iliff, is given in the ‘Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries’
(December, 1859), in which it is fully described. On this is engraved
various coats of arms, surrounded by the Garter, and ensigned with an
earl’s coronet. A list of the quarterings is also given.[16]
In the Braybrooke Collection is a massive latten thumb-ring, with a signet
engraved with I.H.S. and three tears below; the words, ‘in Deo Salus’ are
inside the hoop. They are from the Penitential Psalms, and in union with
the tears. Date from the thirteenth century.
In a portrait of Lady Anne Clifford, the celebrated Countess of Pembroke,
she wears a ring upon the thumb of her right hand.
To the practice of English ladies wearing, formerly, the wedding-ring on
the thumb I have alluded in the chapter on ‘Betrothal and Wedding-rings.’
Dr. Thomas Chalmers wore the ring of his great-great-great-grandfather,
John Alexander, on his thumb.
‘Oriental rings,’ remarks the Rev. C. W. King, ‘exactly like the ancient
in shape, and made of cornelian, chalcedony, and agate, with legends in
Arabic on the face, for the use of signets, are by no means uncommon in
collections. They are of large size, being designed to be worn on the
_thumb_ of the right hand, in order to be used in drawing the bow-string,
which the Orientals pull with the bent thumb, catching it against the
shank of the ring, and not with the two first fingers, as is the practice
of English archers.’
[Illustration: Brass Thumb-ring.]
A brass seal-ring large enough for a man’s thumb was found in Hampshire
some years ago, and is noticed in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ vol. liv.