Ring thumbnail 1
Ring thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 8, The William and Eileen Ruddock Gallery

Ring

1100-1200 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The large size of this ring suggests that it was made for a man.The motif of the lion passant, a lion in profile facing to the right, was often used in heraldry. The motif as used in this ring may possibly indicate a particular family's arms, but may also be purely decorative.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gold, cast and chased
Brief description
Gold ring, with a lion passant, Sicily, 12th century
Physical description
Ring, gold, cast and chased. The shaped shoulders of the decorated with an interlace pattern. The flat rectangular bezel set with a high relief lion passant, with incised detailing.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.2cm
  • Width: 2.1cm
  • Depth: 2.1cm
  • Inside diameter: 1.8cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Historical context
This ring's large size shows that it probably belonged to a man. Rings, however, were often exchanged as gifts, or bequeathed to friends and relatives. If a ring did not fit the new owner, it could be worn on a ribbon around the neck, or sometimes secured to the finger by a ribbon tied around the wrist.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The large size of this ring suggests that it was made for a man.The motif of the lion passant, a lion in profile facing to the right, was often used in heraldry. The motif as used in this ring may possibly indicate a particular family's arms, but may also be purely decorative.
Bibliographic reference
Oman, Charles, Catalogue of Rings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1930, no. 246, pl X
Collection
Accession number
26-1894

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 28, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest