Ring
1787 (dated)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The design of this ring owes much to the tradition of mourning rings but it was probably a gift of love or friendship. The bezel is set with a panel showing two doves on an urn-shaped basin under the inscription 'Amitié' or friendship. The three dimensional design of the urn is created with chopped hair, decorated with tiny half-pearls. The reverse of the bezel shows the initials SS and JLH with the date 1787, commemorating the moment when the ring was given.
Similar designs for rings can be found in Garnett Terry's 1795 'Book of New and Allegorical Devices, for Artists in General, and Particularly for Jewellers, Enamel painter, Pattern Drawers &c'. Doves were associated with love because they were said to accompany the Roman goddess of love, Venus. The image of doves drinking from a basin also gained popularity with the rediscovery of the mosaic panel known as the 'Capitoline doves' or the 'Doves of Pliny' in 1737 when the Emperor Hadrian's villa was excavated at Tivoli.
Similar designs for rings can be found in Garnett Terry's 1795 'Book of New and Allegorical Devices, for Artists in General, and Particularly for Jewellers, Enamel painter, Pattern Drawers &c'. Doves were associated with love because they were said to accompany the Roman goddess of love, Venus. The image of doves drinking from a basin also gained popularity with the rediscovery of the mosaic panel known as the 'Capitoline doves' or the 'Doves of Pliny' in 1737 when the Emperor Hadrian's villa was excavated at Tivoli.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold ring set with hair and pearls |
| Brief description | Gold ring set with pearls with a composition in hair of two doves perched on an urn, set with half-pearls, possibly England, dated 1787 |
| Physical description | Gold ring set with pearls. A marquise bezel with a composition in hair of two doves perched on an urn, set with half-pearls, below the inscription 'AMITIÉ', with a crystal cover. On the reverse is inscribed 'SS/JLH' in monogram and '1787'. The pearls appear at least in part to be artificial. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| 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 | The design of this ring owes much to the tradition of mourning rings but it was probably a gift of love or friendship. The bezel is set with a panel showing two doves on an urn-shaped basin under the inscription 'Amitié' or friendship. The three dimensional design of the urn is created with chopped hair, decorated with tiny half-pearls. The reverse of the bezel shows the initials SS and JLH with the date 1787, commemorating the moment when the ring was given. Similar designs for rings can be found in Garnett Terry's 1795 'Book of New and Allegorical Devices, for Artists in General, and Particularly for Jewellers, Enamel painter, Pattern Drawers &c'. Doves were associated with love because they were said to accompany the Roman goddess of love, Venus. The image of doves drinking from a basin also gained popularity with the rediscovery of the mosaic panel known as the 'Capitoline doves' or the 'Doves of Pliny' in 1737 when the Emperor Hadrian's villa was excavated at Tivoli. |
| Bibliographic reference | Oman, Charles, Catalogue of rings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1930, reprinted Ipswich, 1993, cat. 858 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 856-1888 |
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| Record created | November 14, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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