Thumb ring, white nephrite jade, inset diamond, ruby, emeralds, inlaid gold, Mughal empire formerly in the Guthrie collection

An asymmetric thumb ring fashioned in white nephrite jade with a good polish on all surfaces. The outer surface has been inlaid with fine gold wire that follows the edges at both ends. In between the two gold boundaries, there is a flower and leaf design of twelve inset carved emerald cabochons together with a single crescent-shaped, carved ruby and a faceted, flat-topped diamond. Detail is also provided by additional inlaid gold wire. The emeralds surrounding the diamond have been set proud of the ring's body and there is no gold setting visible around them. However, all of the other stones have been set in reflective, closed-back settings.

This thumb ring was originally in the Guthrie collection and was purchased by the South Kensington Mueseum for the sum of £18-0-0 in 1875 from Mr T Whitehead who bought it at the Christie's auction of that year, following Colonel Guthrie's death.

Charles Seton Guthrie was an important collector of eastern coins and Mughal Empire jade and rock crystal objects. He was the second son of Scottish parents, both of whom were from noble and landed families, and his father worked for the East India Company in Calcutta.
Guthrie most probably developed his interest in jade and rock crystal when he studied geology as a 17 year old cadet in 1825 in Addiscombe, and he joined the Bengal Engineers in 1828.
Through his family’s established connection with the Inglis and Lister families, he became acquainted with Harry Inglis and his Anglo-Indian wife Sophia (nee Lister). He may well have received gifts of objects that Harry had acquired as proceeds from his Indian military campaigns. Harry was the son and heir of George Inglis who owned Inglis & Co., a large Indian trading company.
During his time in India, Charles Guthrie enhanced his collections with acquisitions financed by his army pay and also income from properties in his late mother’s estate.
He subsequently retired at the honorary rank of Colonel in 1857, although he returned to England in 1855, at the same time as Harry and Sophia, due to having 2 years of accumulated leave.
Following Harry’s death in 1860, his embalmed body was returned to India, accompanied by Sophia and Charles, where it was interred in an above-ground tomb. Sophia inherited Harry’s vast estate, which almost certainly contained many fine jewels and Mughal objects. Sophia began living together with Charles in Calcutta, bearing him a son in 1862. Following a financially significant arrangement being agreed by Sophia with Charles, the two eventually married in 1863 with the family returning to England a short time thereafter.
Sophia died in 1866, with Charles being named as an executor with instruction to liquidate her un-itemised English estate which included “jewels, trinkets and shawls”.
Soon thereafter, in 1868, Guthrie sold part of his collection of jade and rock crystal objects to The India Museum and his large coin collection to a museum in Germany. Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie died in 1874 and the remainder of his collections was sold at auction, in accordance with the terms of his will, with many objects finding their way into other important collections and then subsequently to the museum.

This thumb ring was made within the Mughal empire, probably in the 18th century. It is made of white nephrite jade and ornamented with a flower and leaf design of twelve carved emerald cabochons and a single crescent-shaped, carved ruby, with a faceted, flat-topped diamond. Detail is also provided by additional inlaid gold wire. The emeralds surrounding the diamond have been set proud of the ring's body and there is no gold setting visible around them. However, all of the other stones have been set in reflective, closed-back settings.
The ring was originally part of the extensive collection of Mughal hardstones formed by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie in India in the 19th century. Many of his objects were bought by the Indian Museum, London, in 1868, and were transferred to the South Kensington Museum in 1879. The rest of his collection was sold at auction in 1875 after his death. This piece was bought at the auction by Mr T M Whitehead, who sold it to the South Kensington Museum (which was later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) that same year.

631-1875