Ring thumbnail 1
Ring thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Ring

late 18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This ring, decorated with a stylised image of a mourning woman by a funerary urn, holds the whole biography of the unnamed EM. The inscription on the back of the bezel records that EM was married on 14 May 1779 and died a few years later on 23 August 1783 at the age of 25. If EM was a woman, she may have died as a result of complications of pregnancy or childbirth, the leading cause of death for young women. Although the design is quite standardised, it is made personal by the use of chopped hair in the urn and at the base of the design.

From the early seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century, testators left money in their wills to have rings with commemorative inscriptions made and distributed to their friends and families. Simple bands enamelled with the name and life dates of the deceased were frequently made, sometimes set with a gemstone or a bezel set with a rock crystal covering a symbol such as a coffin or initials in gold wire. In the later 18th century, rings followed neo-classical designs, their oval bezels often decorated with the same designs as funerary monuments such as urns, broken pillars and mourning figures. Hair from the deceased was incorporated into the designs or set in a compartment at the back of the ring to give each jewel a uniquely personal element. Black or white enamel were favoured though white enamel was often, though not universally used to commemorate children and unmarried adults. By the end of the 19th century, memorial ring designs were becoming more standardised. The hoops were often inscribed with phrases such as 'In memory' whilst a commemorative inscription could be added to the inside of the hoop. The custom of giving rings as memorials gradually declined in the early 20th century, although the Goldsmiths Journal suggests that some were still being sold in the 1930s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Engraved gold with a miniature on ivory or bone, chopped hair
Brief description
Gold mourning ring the oval bezel with a miniature of a woman standing by an urn on a pedestal with EM in monogram. Inscribed behind EM Mar(ried)d. 14 May 1779 Ob 23 Aug.1783 A't 25., Britain, late 18th century
Physical description
Gold mourning ring the oval bezel with a miniature of a woman standing by an urn on a pedestal with EM in monogram. The design is painted on ivory or bone and incorporates chopped hair and small gold fittings.
Inscribed behind EM Mar(ried)d. 14 May 1779 Ob 23 Aug.1783 A't 25.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.5cm
  • Width: 2.2cm
  • Depth: 2.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed EM Mar(ried)d. 14 May 1779 Ob 23 Aug.1783 A't 25. (behind;)
  • 'EM' in monogram
  • Unmarked
Object history
Part of a group of memorial and mourning jewels bought from Dr Marco Guastalla, acting on behalf of 'an English lady residing in Italy' (museum numbers 846-1888 to 989-1888)
Subjects depicted
Summary
This ring, decorated with a stylised image of a mourning woman by a funerary urn, holds the whole biography of the unnamed EM. The inscription on the back of the bezel records that EM was married on 14 May 1779 and died a few years later on 23 August 1783 at the age of 25. If EM was a woman, she may have died as a result of complications of pregnancy or childbirth, the leading cause of death for young women. Although the design is quite standardised, it is made personal by the use of chopped hair in the urn and at the base of the design.

From the early seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century, testators left money in their wills to have rings with commemorative inscriptions made and distributed to their friends and families. Simple bands enamelled with the name and life dates of the deceased were frequently made, sometimes set with a gemstone or a bezel set with a rock crystal covering a symbol such as a coffin or initials in gold wire. In the later 18th century, rings followed neo-classical designs, their oval bezels often decorated with the same designs as funerary monuments such as urns, broken pillars and mourning figures. Hair from the deceased was incorporated into the designs or set in a compartment at the back of the ring to give each jewel a uniquely personal element. Black or white enamel were favoured though white enamel was often, though not universally used to commemorate children and unmarried adults. By the end of the 19th century, memorial ring designs were becoming more standardised. The hoops were often inscribed with phrases such as 'In memory' whilst a commemorative inscription could be added to the inside of the hoop. The custom of giving rings as memorials gradually declined in the early 20th century, although the Goldsmiths Journal suggests that some were still being sold in the 1930s.
Bibliographic reference
Oman, Charles, Catalogue of rings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1930, reprinted Ipswich, 1993, cat 848
Collection
Accession number
903-1888

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Record createdApril 25, 2006
Record URL
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