Rings have been given as signs of love and marriage since Greek and Roman times. This silver ring has been engraved with a pair of clasped hands and decorated with niello, a shiny black paste which is pressed into the engraved pattern and polished smooth. The clasped hands form a motif known as 'mani in fede' or hands clasped in faith. This represented the handclasp of the marriage service and can often be found on love and marriage rings. Although a legal marriage in the medieval world could be formed simply by a couple exchanging vows and sealing the agreement with a handclasp, the exchange of a ring solemnised the occasion and could act as a visual proof if the marriage was later disputed.

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.