Thumb ring, banded agate, Mughal, c. 1650

Banded agate, cut through two layers to create disc at the front ('eyed' agate)

From the collection of Sir Andrew Fountaine (1676-1753) of Narford Hall.
Sir Andrew Fountaine was a distinguished connoisseur who built up collections of maiolica, paintings, books and other objects. He moved in court circles and succeeded Isaac Newton as Master of the Mint in 1727. He was also a friend of Jonathan Swift and other luminaries of the day. Swift mentions 'sauntering at china-shops and booksellers' with Fountaine in his diary-letters known as The Journal to Stella and covering his life between 1710 and 1713. 'China-shops' at this time meant the china houses of London, where porcelain and curiosities from the East were sold.
He was described by Alexander Pope after receiving the Black Rod of the Parliament of Ireland:
But Annius, crafty Seer, with ebon wand,
and well dissembled emerald on his hand,
False as his gems and cancered as his coins' (quoted in the Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co sale of Monday 13 April 1981 where this ring was offered as lot 52). The inventory of Fountaine's collection was prepared after his death in 1753.

This thumb ring was probably made in the Mughal empire in about 1650. Rings of this type were originally used in archery as a way of releasing the bowstring accurately without injuring the hand. They were made from various hardstones, including agate and jade. This example is made of banded agate with three layers and is the work of a master craftsman. The two upper layers have been removed in such a way as to leave superimposed circles exactly at the centre of the front of the ring. The ring belonged to the renowned British connoisseur Sir Andrew Fountaine of Narford Hall (1676-1753), who was a friend of the Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels.

IS.42-1981