Ring thumbnail 1
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

Ring

c. 1450 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)

The broad, chanelled hoop on this example suggests it was a man's ring, worn on the thumb. The decorative contrast between the colour of the stones is elegantly balanced. The two pale pinkish-red rubies set in this ring are known as 'balas' or spinel rubies, and came from Afghanistan. The diamond is half a natural diamond crystal, sometimes described as a 'point-cut' diamond.


Object details

Categories
Jewellery
Metalwork
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Ring
Materials and techniques
Gold; diamond, spinel ruby
Gold
Diamond
Ruby
Brief description
Gold ring, the hoop set with a point-cut diamond and two spinel rubies, inscribed in black letter rv and for a cause, England, around 1450.
Physical description
Large gold ring, the hoop set with a single point-cut diamond and two spinel rubies, inscribed on the hoop at either side of the diamond with rv and on the interior of the hoop for a cause.
Dimensions
  • Height: 3.2cm
  • Width: 3.1cm
  • Depth: 1.1cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • rv (On the hoop, at either side of the diamond; in black letter)
    Translation
    Perhaps initials
  • for a cause (inside the hoop; in black letter)
Object history
ex Ashburnham Collection
Summary
The broad, chanelled hoop on this example suggests it was a man's ring, worn on the thumb. The decorative contrast between the colour of the stones is elegantly balanced. The two pale pinkish-red rubies set in this ring are known as 'balas' or spinel rubies, and came from Afghanistan. The diamond is half a natural diamond crystal, sometimes described as a 'point-cut' diamond.
Bibliographic references
  • Campbell, Marian, Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500, London, V&A Publishing, 2009, p. 29, fig. 27; p. 74, fig. 75.
  • Oman, Charles, Catalogue of rings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1930, reprinted Ipswich, 1993, cat. 265, pl. XII
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.253-1921

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Record createdMarch 7, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O121730/ring-unknown/
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