RENAISSANCE RINGS, BRACELETS, AND BROOCHES
The splendour-loving sixteenth century far surpassed the Middle Ages
in the use of the finger ring. No other ornament of the Renaissance
attained such richness and profusion. In sixteenth and seventeenth
century portraits rings are represented in such quantities that the
hands appear overburdened with them; while the number entered in the old
inventories is astounding. Yet it is well to remember that the word
_bague_, which we translate a ring, was a general term for all pendent
jewels--though not infrequently a distinction in the lists is drawn
between _bague à mettre aux oreilles_ (an earring), _bague à pendre_ (a
pendant), and _bague à mettre au doigt_. The extraordinary abundance of
finger rings in use at the time may best be judged by a list in the
inventory of Henry VIII of the year 1530, which contains no less than
234.
Of the large number of Renaissance rings that have survived to the
present day most are of a purely ornamental character; and though many
others are of interest on account of their emblematic or historical
associations, those which display artistic work require the chief
consideration. Out of all the rings that simply served the purpose
of decoration, there are very few whose nationality can be easily
determined. If it is difficult in the case of pendants and similar
ornaments to come to a decision with regard to the question of
provenance, it is even more so where rings are concerned.
Pictures of the period, as has been said, represent persons with their
hands heavily loaded with rings, which are worn upon all the fingers,
the thumb included. Every finger-joint up to the very nail is covered
with them, and they are worn, as by the ancient Romans, even upon the
knuckles. The great projection of the rings' bezels would have rendered
the use of gloves impossible, were it not, as we know from pictures, for
the custom of placing the rings outside the gloves, and also for the
somewhat ugly fashion of slitting the fingers of the gloves, in order
that they might be worn with greater comfort, and allow the rings
themselves to be displayed. In a portrait of a lady by Lucas Cranach in
the National Gallery, rings are worn both over and beneath the gloves,
every finger and the thumbs having two or three. The rings under the
gloves appear on the top of the second knuckle of every finger, and are
visible through the _crevés_ made in the gloves at these points. In
other pictures by this artist, such as that entitled "Judith" at Vienna,
and in the works of his contemporaries in Germany, the same slashed
gloves are to be seen. Men's gloves, too, like their doublets, were
slashed, as is clear from the engraved portrait of Duke William of
Juliers, by Aldegrever. Bishop Hall (_Satires_, III, iv) refers thus to
the current fashion:--
Nor can good Myson wear on his left hond,
A signet ring of Bristol diamond,[167]
But he must cut his glove to show his pride,
That his trim jewel might be better spy'd.
[167] See note, p. 235.
The tendency of placing the stone in a very high bezel was a tradition
from the Middle Ages, where a preference had always been shown for the
stone being so set. The ornamental rings of the Renaissance followed a
uniform outline as far as their bezels and settings were concerned. They
contained, as a rule, one stone only, backed by a foil or _paillon_, and
set in a box-like collet, square and pyramidal, and closed behind. The
gold was rubbed over the setting edge of the stone, and the four side
surfaces then decorated in a variety of ways by the application of
enamel, and sometimes overlaid with an additional ornamentation in
imitation of claws. The stone itself, usually table-cut, was frequently
a ruby.
[Illustration: Triple rings set with pointed diamonds. Device of Cosimo
de' Medici. (Figured in Botticelli's "Pallas" in the Pitti Gallery.)]
One peculiar variety of ring, known from the early part of the fifteenth
century, is deserving of note. Its design was founded upon the natural
octahedrite shape of the diamond, and was distinguished by a very high
bezel, which received one half of the octahedron and allowed the other
to project upwards. Rings set thus with pointed diamonds were in high
favour until the middle of the seventeenth century, and were employed
for writing upon glass--a practice which appears to have been much in
vogue. The most characteristic examples of the _diamante in punta_ were
those adopted by the Medici as their device. Three diamond rings
interlaced were employed by Cosimo (d. 1464); Piero took one diamond
ring held in the claw of a falcon; Lorenzo continued the device of the
ring, in which he placed three feathers. The best-known representations
of these three devices are figured in Paolo Giovio's _Dialogo dell'
imprese_.
In addition to the case for the stone, the sides or "shoulders" of the
ring which held it were the subject of special artistic development.
They took the form of small figures, winged creature, masks, and
other ornaments in relief and richly enamelled; while for smooth
surfaces champlevé enamel was employed in a variety of designs. So
extraordinarily elaborate is the work on some of these rings that it
would almost seem as if they were produced rather as examples of the
skill of the craftsman than as objects for actual use.
Several old portraits exhibit rings strung upon men's necklaces, or
hung from a thin cord round the neck. A portrait by Mabuse, in the
Berlin Gallery, shows a ring worn thus, and in two portraits by Lucas
Cranach--one at Weimar, representing Johann Friedrich of Saxony attired
as a bridegroom, and the other at Dresden, of the Elector Johann the
Constant of Saxony (1526)--rings are hung similarly round the neck.
Rings were also worn in the hat. A particularly striking example of this
fashion is seen in the portrait of Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden,
1515, by Hans Baldung Grien, in the Pinakothek, Munich. Around his cap
is fixed a thick wire-shaped band of gold, with a strip of cloth wound
spirally round it. The latter serves to fix at regular intervals four
gold rings, three of them set with cabochon stones and the fourth with a
pointed diamond. A similar kind of decoration is alluded to in Gabriel
Harvey's _Letter Book_, 1574 (Camden Society, 1884, p. 145), where a
servant is mentioned carrying to a maiden an enamelled posy ring which
his master had worn sewn upon his hat.
The rings worn thus were in many cases betrothal or engagement rings;
but those that served this purpose generally assumed special forms, and
were among the most ingenious productions of the time. They were
composed of twin or double hoops, and known as gimmel rings. The outer
side of the two hoops was convex and elaborately ornamented, while the
inner side was flat and often bore some inscription. The two hoops were
wrought so exactly alike, that, together with the stones, they appeared
to be one ring, yet could be separated, and the one hung from the
other. Their bezels were occasionally formed of clasped hands. Ordinary
one-hoop rings also bore the same design and were known as "fede" rings.
Another kind of betrothal or engagement ring was the "posy" or "poesie"
ring, generally of simple form, with a verse, a name, or a motto
engraved inside it. The posy ring, suitably inscribed, was also used as
a wedding-ring. The simple posy ring belongs, however, chiefly to the
seventeenth century. The elaborate betrothal ring seems to have been
employed at this time as a wedding-ring as well. It was reserved for
modern times to give the wedding-ring its smooth, convenient, but
artistically unimportant form. Widely distributed among the North German
peasantry are certain peculiar wedding-rings, which, as a rule, contain
a couple of the heart-shaped milk-teeth of the young roe-buck, with a
small lock from which hang two keys--a symbol which perhaps not inaptly
indicates the union of two pure hearts. Dating from the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, but wholly different from the Renaissance form of
ring, and very large and elaborate, are the Jewish wedding-rings, which
were used only at the ceremony and then preserved by the family. They
are composed of a broad band adorned with filigree (probably in keeping
with some ancient Oriental tradition) arranged in bosses and rosettes
and enriched with light blue, light green, and other enamel. In place of
a bezel there is often the model of a building with high gabled roofs
and enamelled tile, pierced by windows, and having movable weathercocks
on the apex; an inscription in Hebrew characters on the shank contains
the motto "Good star."
[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVI_ RENAISSANCE AND LATER RINGS]
It was the custom to arrange finger rings upon a rod when not in use or
when exposed for exhibition in the jeweller's shop, and in paintings it
is no uncommon thing to see a line of rings of various patterns run
on what appears to be a roll of parchment; as in the annexed
illustration--a cut from a Herbal published at Frankfort in 1536. Rings
arranged thus may be seen in Ghirlandaio's portrait of Costanza de'
Medici, belonging to Mr. Salting; in the "Legend of St. Godeberta" by
Petrus Christus; in Gerard David's portrait of a goldsmith at Vienna; in
the "Banker and his Wife" by Quentin Matsys in the Louvre, and in
similar pictures where a jeweller or a banker is represented.
[Illustration: Rings on a roll of parchment. From _Kreuterbuch_
(Frankfort, 1536).]
In Henry VIII's inventory of 1527 we find: "Upon a finger-stall, seven
rings, one a ruby, another an emerald, and a turquoise, another a table
diamond, another a triangular diamond, another a rocky diamond"; also in
1530: "A roll with thirty-nine Paris rings, with small stones." In the
Duke of Newcastle's comedy _The Country Captain_ (1649) mention is made
of an extravagant person "who makes his fingers like jewellers' cards to
set rings upon." In the Pinakothek, Munich, is a most interesting
picture by Paris Bordone representing a jeweller with a quantity of his
treasures lying on a table before him. Every item is painted with
extreme care. Twelve massive finger rings, arranged in three rows of
four, are displayed in an oblong ring-box, just in the same manner as
one might expect to find them in a jeweller's shop of the present day. A
somewhat similar picture by Lorenzo Lotto, in the Kaufmann Collection in
Berlin, represents a jeweller holding in his left hand a box full of
rings and in his right a single specimen.
By far the most attractive of the fine engravings of jewellery by Pierre
Woeiriot of Lorraine is his beautiful set of rings published in 1561
under the title of _Livre d'aneaux d'orfévrerie_. M. Foulc, of Paris, is
generally credited with the possession of the only complete set of
these engravings. A perfect specimen of the work is, however, preserved
in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, to which it was bequeathed by the
well-known antiquary Francis Douce in 1834. It comprises forty plates,
each containing one or more rings to the number of ninety-six, and
furnishes striking examples of the taste and inventive genius then
bestowed on these minute objects. Nevertheless, engravings can convey
but small idea of the colour effect, and the wonderful charm that the
actual rings possess. In order to fully appreciate them, one must visit
the three great English collections of them now accessible to the
public: the South Kensington Collection, containing the greater part of
that formed by Edmund Waterton; the Drury Fortnum Collection in the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; and above all, the collection in the British
Museum, which includes the splendid series bequeathed by Sir A. W.
Franks, in which were absorbed the Braybrooke, Londesborough, and some
minor cabinets, together with the best from the Soden Smith Collection,
as well as the choicest from the Pichon and from many foreign sales.
BRACELETS
The bracelet during this period plays a scarcely more prominent part
than it did in the Middle Ages, and probably owing to the same reason;
for in Renaissance times the fashion of leaving the arms bare was not in
favour, and the long sleeves that fell over the hand were retained. A
few examples presented by pictures lead to the supposition that
bracelets consisted of beads of amber or jet separated by balls of gold,
or of rows of cameos. Catarina Cornaro in her portrait by Titian in the
Uffizi wears a bracelet upon her wrist over the sleeve, while the
portrait of a lady by Cranach in the National Gallery shows that the
sleeves were occasionally slashed at the wrists to exhibit the
bracelets beneath them, just as were the fingers of gloves for the
purpose of displaying rings.
Inventories supply a certain amount of information concerning bracelets.
Henry VIII in 1530 possessed seventeen, including one of "Paris work,
with jacynths; and one with eight diamonds, eight rubies, fourteen
pearls, and a diamond rose." Elizabeth received a large number of
bracelets amongst her New Year's gifts. In the inventory of Mary
Stuart's jewels are "Une paire de brasseletz garniz de cornaline
lappines et agate et entredeux de doubles--Une aultre paire de
brasseletz damatiste--Ung bracelet fait a facon de serpent." Others are
formed, as were necklaces, of beads of filigree enclosing perfumes:
"Deux braceletz dor percez a jour pleins de parfum--Une aultre paire dor
a jour empliz de parfum."
References to bracelets by writers of the period show that they were not
infrequently worn as love tokens. Thus in Beaumont and Fletcher's
_Cupid's Revenge_:--
Given ear-rings we will wear
Bracelets of our lovers' hair,
Which they on our arms shall twist
With our names carv'd on our wrist.
Also in Barnfield's _Affectionate Shepherd_ (1594):--
I would put amber bracelets on thy wrist,
Crownlets of pearls about thy naked arms.
Contemporary designs prove that bracelets followed the same elaborate
forms as other articles of jewellery, as may be seen from the engraved
designs of Ducerceau, and the _Livre de Bijouterie_ of René Boyvin of
Angers (1530-1598).
One of the most interesting bracelets--as far as actual specimens are
concerned--is preserved at Berkeley Castle amongst the heirlooms
bequeathed by George Carey, Lord Hunsdon, who died in 1603. It is of
crystal and gold, 3¾ inches in diameter. The crystal, a complete
circlet overlaid with open-work gold, is encrusted all round with
rubies, and has at intervals four clusters of rubies around a sapphire
(Pl. XXXV, 5). It is somewhat difficult to arrive at a decision as to
the origin of this remarkable object. It seems to bear traces of
Oriental influence in the setting of the stones, though the goldwork is
of different quality from what one would expect to find in Indian work.
If, like the "nef" jewel at Berkeley, this armlet is to be associated
with Sir Francis Drake, it may well have been obtained by him as part of
some Spanish spoil, in like manner to the "crystal bracelet set in gold"
procured by Sir Matthew Morgan at the capture of Cadiz in 1596--Cadiz
being then the staple town for all the trades of the Levant and of the
Indies.[168]
[168] _Calendar of State Papers_, Domestic, Aug., 1596.
Bracelets formed of cameos are met with sometimes on portraits. The
Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris preserves a pair of bracelets (Nos. 624
and 625) formed each of seven oval shell cameos representing figures of
animals, enclosed in gold mounting enriched with blue enamel, and hinged
together by a double chain ornamented with rosettes enamelled green. On
the under side of the larger cameos which form the clasps are two
interlacing C's within a wreath of palm and olive, enamelled green, and
a barred S in blue enamel at each angle. These bracelets, of which the
cameos as well as the mountings are of fine sixteenth-century work, have
been traditionally associated with Diana of Poitiers. But the interlaced
C's, according to M. Babelon, are in all probability the initials of
some lady of the family of Harlay, from whom the bracelets were acquired
by Louis XIV (Pl. XXXVII, 3, 4).
[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVII_ RENAISSANCE BRACELETS]
Bracelets, like necklaces, were not infrequently composed entirely of
gold, with interwoven links, like mail-chains. A chain bracelet of this
style, formed of circular fluted links, is in the Victoria and Albert
Museum. Its clasp is enriched with a floral pattern in translucent
champlevé enamel (Pl. XXXVII, 1). Three similar bracelets forming part
of the Holtzendorff treasure from Pinnow (Ucker-Mark, N. Germany) are in
the Germanic Museum, Nuremberg. They are composed of circular links, and
have flat clasps like the bracelet just mentioned, ornamented with
coats-of-arms in enamel. One of them bears the date 1612.
BROOCHES
One of the most important of ornaments throughout the Middle Ages was
the brooch; but towards the end of the fifteenth century the mode of
wearing garments changed, and the _côtehardi_ having replaced the
mantle, brooches disappeared little by little, till in Renaissance times
they were rarely employed, except as ornaments for the hat. It is true
that sixteenth-century inventories contain an immense number of owches
and brooches--Henry VIII had no less than 324--but nearly all these, the
larger ones especially, were worn as enseignes upon the hat; while the
smaller were employed not as dress fasteners, but simply as ornaments
sewn or pinned at regular intervals upon the front of the dress or the
borders of the sleeves. A single elaborate jewelled brooch is sometimes
seen in pictures attached to the upper part of the sleeve. We see it
thus on the figure of Arithmetic in Pinturicchio's famous fresco in the
Appartamento Borgia of the Vatican, and later in English pictures,
notably the well-known painting in Sherborne Castle, Dorset,
representing Queen Elizabeth's procession in litter to Blackfriars in
1600, where the ladies of her retinue have jewels fastened to the
sleeves of their right arms.
The garments of this period were not fastened by means of brooches, but
were closed with buttons or points, or with hooks and eyes. Sleeves
were often held on by buttons to which the sleeve-loops or points were
tied, while other portions of the clothing, especially if of leather and
cumbersome to button, were secured with loops or hooks and eyes. The
slashings of the dress were sometimes closed by buttons or pompoms
formed of stones surrounded by pearls. Similar button-like ornaments,
jewelled and richly enamelled, of which examples exist, were worn in
rows all over the dress, but their delicate form and often irregular
shape exclude the supposition that they were used as actual buttons. Of
ornaments of this kind Mary Queen of Scots possessed a large number:
thus--"Quatre vingtz bouttons dor esmaillez de blanc et noir garniz de
chacune une perle." Others mentioned in her inventory are "à rose garniz
de chacun trois perles"; others again are "percez à jour esmaillez de
noir."
These individual jewelled ornaments, which it was the practice to sew on
the dress at regular intervals by way of trimming, may be treated as
distinct from ornamentation which formed part of the actual costume,
such as masses of pearls and precious stones, with which dresses were
literally loaded. Individual jewels often took the form of the monogram,
crest, or device of the owner, in pure gold richly decorated. A curious
instance of this custom has already been alluded to in connection with
what occurred during the masque given by Henry VIII at Westminster. The
fashion for wearing ornaments in the form of jewelled initials was still
in vogue on the quilted dresses of the time of James I. Anne of Denmark
is represented in her portraits wearing them both on her ruff and in her
hair, and a "jewel, in form of an A and two CC, sett with diamonds" and
others of similar kind are to be found in the lists of jewels supplied
to the Queen by George Heriot.
Except occasionally for buttons, the chief means employed for fastening
the garments was by _aigulets_ or _aglets_. These ornamental loops or
eyelets, formed of cords terminating with goldsmith's work, were movable
and were changed from one dress to another according to pleasure. They
are seen in pictures hanging not only from slashes and various parts of
the garments, but also from the cap; and Henry VIII is described as
wearing a cap ornamented with gold enamelled tags. His daughter, the
Princess Mary, was supplied in 1542 by her jeweller, Mabell, with two
dozen pairs of _aglets_. Mary Stuart had a number, such as: "Soixante
cinq esguillettes dor facon de cheuilles sans esmail," "Soixante une
esguillettes dor et de perle esmaillez de rouge," and "Quatre vingtz
dixhuict esguillette dor esmaillez de blanc et noir." Queen Elizabeth
possessed several sets, of different colours and patterns--some gold
enamelled white, some blue, others purple, and some enriched with pearls
and precious stones. These jewelled aglets are now extremely rare, and
are not represented in any public collection.
[Illustration: Design of a bracelet by Jacques Androuet Ducerceau.]