Ring
1800-50 (altered)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This ring forms part of a collection of 154 gems bequeathed to the V&A by the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend, a cleric and poet. Sir A. H. Church gave additional specimens in 1913. He also compiled the first catalogue Precious Stones: A Guide to the Townshend Collection. The first edition appeared in 1883. The stones are mounted as rings, although they may not have been intended to be worn.
The name of John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (5 October 1751 - 14 February 1834) is engraved on the stone. He was a British politician who served as Governor-General of India from 1793 to 1797. He was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of Ireland in 1798.
The name of John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (5 October 1751 - 14 February 1834) is engraved on the stone. He was a British politician who served as Governor-General of India from 1793 to 1797. He was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of Ireland in 1798.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Emerald in a gold mount |
Brief description | Emerald set in gold, inscribed Sir John Shore, Baronet, Bahadur, 1797. Ring setting, Europe, 1800-50. |
Physical description | Emerald set in gold, inscribed Sir John Shore, Baronet, Bahadur, 1797 |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | inscribed Sir John Shore, Baronet, Bahadur, 1797 (John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (5 October 1751 - 14 February 1834) was a British politician who served as Governor-General of India from 1793 to 1797. He was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of Ireland in 1798) |
Credit line | Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncy Hare Townshend |
Object history | The Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend bequeathed his important collection of 154 gems to the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in 1869. Although the collection is not as comprehensive as that found at the Natural History Museum, it is of particular historic interest as its formation pre-dates the development of many synthetic gemstones and artificial enhancements. All the stones were mounted as rings before they came to the Museum, mainly in a series of standardised gold settings, often of the coronet or galleried type. However, several specimens are set with greater elaboration, with diamond borders surrounding the central stone. Some of these were originally in the possession of Henry Philip Hope (d.1839), a brother of the novelist and antiquary Thomas Hope (c. 1770-1831). H.P. Hope formed a famous collection of diamonds and precious stones which was largely inherited by his three nephews. His collection, which included the Hope blue diamond, now in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, was catalogued by B. Hertz in 1839. Townshend is recorded as having made purchases from it and his acquisitions are noted below. He also seems to have remounted several of his purchases, in whole or in part. |
Production | The emerald is from the HP Hope collection but was probably reset by Townshend in the mid nineteenth century. |
Summary | This ring forms part of a collection of 154 gems bequeathed to the V&A by the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend, a cleric and poet. Sir A. H. Church gave additional specimens in 1913. He also compiled the first catalogue Precious Stones: A Guide to the Townshend Collection. The first edition appeared in 1883. The stones are mounted as rings, although they may not have been intended to be worn. The name of John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (5 October 1751 - 14 February 1834) is engraved on the stone. He was a British politician who served as Governor-General of India from 1793 to 1797. He was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of Ireland in 1798. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 1283-1869 |
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Record created | April 5, 2006 |
Record URL |
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