The hollow gold hoop of this ring shows two small notches cut into the sides, which appear intended to make it function as a whistle (although it is possible that the notches were added at a later date). Rings of this type are very uncommon. A base metal seal ring with 'a whistle on one side' was shown at the Society of Antiquaries in London in 1770 but its whereabouts are now unknown.

It forms part of a collection of over 600 rings and engraved gems from the collection of Edmund Waterton (1830-81). Waterton was one of the foremost ring collectors of the nineteenth century and was the author of several articles on rings, a book on English devotion to the Virgin Mary and an unfinished catalogue of his collection (the manuscript is now the National Art Library). He lived in Rome around 1850, holding honorary positions at the Vatican court. He was connected to Italian antiquarians, dealers and collectors. Rapid building work in Rome was revealing a rich array of archaeological material and this ring was said to have been found on the Aventine Hill in Rome.

Waterton was noted for his extravagance and financial troubles caused him to place his collection in pawn with the London jeweller Robert Phillips. When he was unable to repay the loan, Phillips offered to sell the collection to the Museum and it was acquired in 1871. A small group of rings, including this one, which Waterton had held back were acquired in 1899.

Edmund Waterton used the fortune which was made by his family’s involvement in the British Guiana sugar plantations to put his collection together. His grandfather owned a plantation known as Walton Hall and his father, Charles Waterton, went to Guiana as a young man to help run La Jalousie and Fellowship, plantations belonging to his uncles. When slavery was abolished in the British territories, Charles Waterton claimed £16 283 6s 7d in government compensation and was recorded as having 300 slaves on the Walton Hall estate.