Ring thumbnail 1
Ring thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 62, The Foyle Foundation Gallery

Ring

1400-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Tau cross, possibly derived from the Egyptian ankh, is the symbol of St Anthony Abbot, an Egyptian hermit and swineherd of the third century AD. The Tau cross is said to represent the crutch which he used to control his herd. The resemblance of the Tau to a cross led to it being ascribed a mystical significance.

St Anthony was believed to cure ergotism, or St Anthony's fire, and to protect the faithful against pestilence and poisoning. He was the patron saint of the poor and sick and of knights, butchers and brushmakers. A ring bearing the symbol of St Anthony would confer the protection of the saint on the wearer. It may also have been used by members of religious orders dedicated to St Anthony, for example the military order of the Knights of St Anthony, founded by Albert II of Bavaria in 1382 before his proposed campaign against the Turks. It is also possible that some rings bearing this emblem may commemorate a pilgrimage to the church of St Antoine de Viennois, Dauphiné, France where the saint's relics were placed after their transfer from Constantinople in the eleventh century.

This ring forms part of a collection of 760 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-87). Waterton was one of the foremost ring collectors of the nineteenth century and was the author of several articles on rings, a book on English devotion to the Virgin Mary and an unfinished catalogue of his collection (the manuscript is now the National Art Library). Waterton was noted for his extravagance and financial troubles caused him to place his collection in pawn with the London jeweller Robert Phillips. When he was unable to repay the loan, Phillips offered to sell the collection to the Museum and it was acquired in 1871. A small group of rings which Waterton had held back were acquired in 1899.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, engraved
Brief description
Silver ring engraved with a Tau cross on the bezel, made in Germany, 1400-1500.
Physical description
Silver signet ring, the broad hoop with fluted shoulders. Set with an octagonal bezel with a beaded border, engraved with a Tau cross surmounted by a small loop, flanked by stars.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.1cm
  • Width: 2.5cm
  • Diameter: 2.6cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history
ex Waterton collection

Historical significance: The Tau cross, possibly derived from the Egyptian ankh, is the symbol of St Anthony Abbot, an Egyptian hermit and swineherd of the third century AD. The Tau cross is said to represent the crutch which he used to control his herd. The resemblance of the Tau to Christ's crucifixion cross led to it being ascribed a mystical significance.

St Anthony was believed to cure ergotism or St Anthony's fire and to protect the faithful against pestilence and poisoning. He was the patron saint of the poor and sick and of knights, butchers and brushmakers. A ring bearing the symbol of St Anthony would confer the protection of the saint on the wearer. It may also have been used by members of religious orders dedicated to St Anthony, for example the military order of the Knights of St Anthony, founded by Albert II of Bavaria in 1382 before his proposed campaign against the Turks. It is also possible that some rings bearing this emblem may commemorate a pilgrimage to the church of St Antoine de Viennois, Dauphiné, France where the saint's relics were placed after their transfer from Constantinople in the eleventh century.
Summary
The Tau cross, possibly derived from the Egyptian ankh, is the symbol of St Anthony Abbot, an Egyptian hermit and swineherd of the third century AD. The Tau cross is said to represent the crutch which he used to control his herd. The resemblance of the Tau to a cross led to it being ascribed a mystical significance.

St Anthony was believed to cure ergotism, or St Anthony's fire, and to protect the faithful against pestilence and poisoning. He was the patron saint of the poor and sick and of knights, butchers and brushmakers. A ring bearing the symbol of St Anthony would confer the protection of the saint on the wearer. It may also have been used by members of religious orders dedicated to St Anthony, for example the military order of the Knights of St Anthony, founded by Albert II of Bavaria in 1382 before his proposed campaign against the Turks. It is also possible that some rings bearing this emblem may commemorate a pilgrimage to the church of St Antoine de Viennois, Dauphiné, France where the saint's relics were placed after their transfer from Constantinople in the eleventh century.

This ring forms part of a collection of 760 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-87). Waterton was one of the foremost ring collectors of the nineteenth century and was the author of several articles on rings, a book on English devotion to the Virgin Mary and an unfinished catalogue of his collection (the manuscript is now the National Art Library). Waterton was noted for his extravagance and financial troubles caused him to place his collection in pawn with the London jeweller Robert Phillips. When he was unable to repay the loan, Phillips offered to sell the collection to the Museum and it was acquired in 1871. A small group of rings which Waterton had held back were acquired in 1899.
Bibliographic references
  • Oman, C.C. Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Rings, 1930. Ipswich, Anglia Publishing, 1993, cat. no. 592
  • Chadour, Anna Beatriz Rings: the Alice and Louis Koch collection, W.S. Maney and Son Ltd, Leeds, 1994
  • Bury, Shirley, Jewellery Gallery Summuray Catalogue (Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982), p.203, Case 33, Board G, no.1.
  • Waterton, Edmund, Dactyliotheca Watertoniana : a descriptive catalogue of the finger-rings in the collection of Mrs. Waterton [manuscript], 1866
  • Chadour, Anna Beatriz and Rüdiger Joppien Schmuck II: Fingerringe, Kunstgewerbemuseum der stadt, Köln, 1985
  • Dalton, O.M. Catalogue of the Finger Rings: Early Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medieval and Later bequeathed by Sir Augustus Woollastons Franks, K.C.B.), British Museum, London, 1912
  • Church, Rachel, Rings, London, V&A Publishing, 2011, p.21, fig. 17
Collection
Accession number
779-1871

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Record createdAugust 19, 2005
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