Ring thumbnail 1
Ring thumbnail 2
+4
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 10a, The Françoise and Georges Selz Gallery

Ring

ca. 1400 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Europe (made)

The inscription upon this ring is translated from the French, the language of courtly love, as 'with great love'. Rings with such amorous inscriptions show that they were intended as tokens of love, exchanged between lovers. Rings were used to mark betrothals and weddings, but it is impossible today to distinguish these different uses.


Object details

Categories
Jewellery
Metalwork
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Ring
Materials and techniques
Copper alloy, stamped and engraved; amethyst
Copper Alloy
Amethyst
Stamped
Engraved
Brief description
Latten (copper alloy) ring, the projecting bezel re-set with an amethyst, the shoulders stamped with roses. The hoop inscribed in black letters 'par / grant / amour', west Europe, ca.1400
Physical description
Copper alloy ring, the projecting bezel now set with an amethyst, the shoulders stamped with roses. The hoop inscribed in black letter 'par / grant / amour'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.1cm
  • Width: 2cm
  • Depth: 1.1cm
  • Diameter: 2.9cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
'par / grant / amour' (Around the hoop, inscribed in black letter)
Translation
through/ with great love
Object history
Found at Cardiff. Ex Harman-Oates Collection

This ring is made of base metal and set with an amethyst. Whilst gems were expensive in this period, the use of base metal may indicate that the owner could not afford an item of jewellery made of gold or silver.
Subject depicted
Marriage
Summary
The inscription upon this ring is translated from the French, the language of courtly love, as 'with great love'. Rings with such amorous inscriptions show that they were intended as tokens of love, exchanged between lovers. Rings were used to mark betrothals and weddings, but it is impossible today to distinguish these different uses.
Bibliographic references
  • Bury, Shirley, Rings, HMSO, 1984
  • Ward, Anne, Cherry, John, Gere, Charlotte, Cartlidge, Barbara, The Ring: From Antiquity to the Twentieth Century, Thames and Hudson, London, 1981
  • Taylor, Gerald, Scarisbrick, Diana, Finger Rings: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day, Lund Humphries, London, 1978
  • Scarisbrick, Diana, Rings: Symbols of Wealth and Power, Thames and Hudson, London, 1993
  • Oman, Charles, British Rings 800-1914, B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1974
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.10-1929

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Record createdMarch 13, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O121826/ring-unknown/
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