Ring
1400-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Rings are the most commonly surviving medieval jewels. They were worn by both sexes, across all levels of society. Some portraits show wearers with multiple rings across all their fingers. Although rings were worn for decoration, they also had important practical functions such as marriage rings or signet rings.
This gilt bronze ring is decorated with the glass cameo heads of the Roman Emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. Classical history and literature remained the basis of a liberal education and these figures would have been recognisable to medieval wearers.
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.
This gilt bronze ring is decorated with the glass cameo heads of the Roman Emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. Classical history and literature remained the basis of a liberal education and these figures would have been recognisable to medieval wearers.
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.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Gilt bronze set with paste cameos |
Brief description | Gilt bronze ring, the hoop set with paste cameos of Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian, inscribed in black letter 'mur' (meaning unknown), Western Europe, 1400-1500. |
Physical description | Gilt bronze ring, the hoop set with antique paste cameos of Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian, inscribed in black letter 'mur'. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | 'mur' (Inscription on the hoop; in black letter) |
Object history | Ex Waterton Collection. Charles Oman compares it to a ring in the collection of the Musee de Cluny, Paris which is of similar shape, engraved with M+M and set with a small red paste (No.199972). |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Rings are the most commonly surviving medieval jewels. They were worn by both sexes, across all levels of society. Some portraits show wearers with multiple rings across all their fingers. Although rings were worn for decoration, they also had important practical functions such as marriage rings or signet rings. This gilt bronze ring is decorated with the glass cameo heads of the Roman Emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. Classical history and literature remained the basis of a liberal education and these figures would have been recognisable to medieval wearers. 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. |
Bibliographic reference | Oman, Charles, Catalogue of rings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1930, reprinted Ipswich, 1993, cat. 939 |
Collection | |
Accession number | 654-1871 |
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Record created | March 7, 2006 |
Record URL |
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