Ring
1670-1700 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A belief in the magical or curative properties of various natural substances has long existed at all levels of society. Philip II of Spain wore a ring set with a stone to protect him against haemorrhages whilst Elizabeth I owned a ring having the virtue 'to expel infectious airs' (Scarisbrick, p.55). Amongst the substances held to have curative values are toadstones, particularly popular in England in the Renaissance and whose use persisted into the eighteenth century. 'Serpents eyes', through a principle of sympathetic magic, were thought to protect against snakebite.
The substance known as 'Serpents' eye' was the fossilised tooth of a Sargus (white sea bream) fish. This ring has been previously catalogued as 'toadstone' (fossilised tooth of Lepidote fish), but toadstone has a characteristic brown/grey colour.
This ring forms part of a collection of over 600 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-81). 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.
Edmund Waterton used the fortune which was made by his family’s involvement in the British Guiana sugar plantations to put his collection together. His grandfather owned a plantation known as Walton Hall and his father, Charles Waterton, went to Guiana as a young man to help run La Jalousie and Fellowship, plantations which belonged to his uncles. When slavery was abolished in the British territories, Charles Waterton claimed £16283 6s 7d in government compensation and was recorded as having 300 slaves on the Walton Hall estate.
The substance known as 'Serpents' eye' was the fossilised tooth of a Sargus (white sea bream) fish. This ring has been previously catalogued as 'toadstone' (fossilised tooth of Lepidote fish), but toadstone has a characteristic brown/grey colour.
This ring forms part of a collection of over 600 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-81). 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.
Edmund Waterton used the fortune which was made by his family’s involvement in the British Guiana sugar plantations to put his collection together. His grandfather owned a plantation known as Walton Hall and his father, Charles Waterton, went to Guiana as a young man to help run La Jalousie and Fellowship, plantations which belonged to his uncles. When slavery was abolished in the British territories, Charles Waterton claimed £16283 6s 7d in government compensation and was recorded as having 300 slaves on the Walton Hall estate.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Enamelled gold set with a serpent's eye |
| Brief description | Enamelled gold ring with a circular bezel set with a serpent's eye, possibly Italy, 1670-1700. |
| Physical description | Enamelled gold ring with a circular bezel set with a serpent's eye |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | From the Waterton Collection This ring is set with an orange substance which has a similar growth structure to the toadstones in the V&A's collection (ie. semi-opaque, granular growth structure radiating from the centre of the form and graduating to a wavy pattern around the edges [viewed under high magnification]). The refractive index measures approx. 1.58 (distant vision). The following is an extract from the Natural History Museum Website, taken on the 09/11/06 (www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/fossils/fossil-folklore/fossil_types/fish_teeth.htm) Serpents' eyes Miocene fossil teeth of another bony fish - 'Sargus', the white sea bream, and its relatives - were known as serpents' eyes in Malta. The palatal teeth of Sargus resemble Lepidotes teeth. They often have a pale yellow or orange-coloured centre called the acrodin cap, surrounded by a darker ring, coloured brown, giving them an eye-like appearance. Along with tonguestones (sharks' teeth), serpents' eyes were given as gifts in Malta during medieval times (Zammit-Maempel 1989). For instance, papal delegates to Malta were presented with gold-mounted serpents' eyes and fossil sharks' teeth to be used as protective amulets. Their importance and value also extended to royalty - serpents' eyes were listed among the jewels owned by King Henry V of England (Thompson 1932). The idea that Sargus teeth were the petrified eyes of serpents is connected with the story of St Paul. The snakes cursed by the shipwrecked apostle are said to have lost their eyes, which then became embedded in the island's rocks. The use of serpents' eyes as a sympathetic medicine against snakebites involved either boiling the fossil fish teeth in water, or adding the teeth in powdered form to water or wine (Worm 1686). |
| Summary | A belief in the magical or curative properties of various natural substances has long existed at all levels of society. Philip II of Spain wore a ring set with a stone to protect him against haemorrhages whilst Elizabeth I owned a ring having the virtue 'to expel infectious airs' (Scarisbrick, p.55). Amongst the substances held to have curative values are toadstones, particularly popular in England in the Renaissance and whose use persisted into the eighteenth century. 'Serpents eyes', through a principle of sympathetic magic, were thought to protect against snakebite. The substance known as 'Serpents' eye' was the fossilised tooth of a Sargus (white sea bream) fish. This ring has been previously catalogued as 'toadstone' (fossilised tooth of Lepidote fish), but toadstone has a characteristic brown/grey colour. This ring forms part of a collection of over 600 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-81). 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. Edmund Waterton used the fortune which was made by his family’s involvement in the British Guiana sugar plantations to put his collection together. His grandfather owned a plantation known as Walton Hall and his father, Charles Waterton, went to Guiana as a young man to help run La Jalousie and Fellowship, plantations which belonged to his uncles. When slavery was abolished in the British territories, Charles Waterton claimed £16283 6s 7d in government compensation and was recorded as having 300 slaves on the Walton Hall estate. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 716-1871 |
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| Record created | February 17, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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