Signet Ring thumbnail 1
Signet Ring thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Signet Ring

15th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This ring would have been used as a signet, pressed into hot wax to seal a letter or packet. Personal seals (secreta) provided an essential legal safeguard and were used to witness documents such as wills, deeds of gift, loans and commercial documents, personal letters and land indentures. A letter from Lord Berengario in Verona in 906 underscores the importance of the signet:

‘So that this may be more truly believed and more faithfully observed, we order this to be sealed with our ring, confirming it with our own hand’.

Signets could be engraved with a coat of arms for those entitled to bear them, with a personal device or simply with an initial letter. The coat of arms on this ring may be that of the Des Lacs family of Gascony, whilst the name 'Iuhanis de lasu' is that of the ring's owner.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Engraved silver
Brief description
Silver signet ring with an octagonal bezel engraved with a coat of arms and inscribed in black letter with the name iuhanis de lasu, France, 15th century
Physical description
Silver signet ring with an octagonal bezel engraved with a coat of arms and inscribed in black letter with the name iuhanis de lasu
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.6cm
  • Width: 2.8cm
  • Depth: 1.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
inscribed with the name iuhanis de lasu (in black letter)
Object history
Charles Oman (Catalogue of Rings) interprets the arms as 'three barrulets impaling a castle'. He suggests that the arms resemble those of the Des Lacs family of Gascony and Guyenne (Rietstep Armorial General).
Subject depicted
Summary
This ring would have been used as a signet, pressed into hot wax to seal a letter or packet. Personal seals (secreta) provided an essential legal safeguard and were used to witness documents such as wills, deeds of gift, loans and commercial documents, personal letters and land indentures. A letter from Lord Berengario in Verona in 906 underscores the importance of the signet:

‘So that this may be more truly believed and more faithfully observed, we order this to be sealed with our ring, confirming it with our own hand’.

Signets could be engraved with a coat of arms for those entitled to bear them, with a personal device or simply with an initial letter. The coat of arms on this ring may be that of the Des Lacs family of Gascony, whilst the name 'Iuhanis de lasu' is that of the ring's owner.
Bibliographic reference
Oman, Charles, Catalogue of rings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1930, reprinted Ipswich, 1993, cat. 518
Collection
Accession number
142-1907

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Record createdFebruary 13, 2006
Record URL
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