Ring Brooch thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Ring Brooch

1400-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)
France (made)

Ring brooch, gold, made from sheet and filled with pitch (the pitch is visible where the engraving breaks the surface), engraved and enamelled. Traces of a reddish-brown enamel on both the obverse and the reverse; traces of paraffin wax consolidant.



Object details

Categories
Jewellery
Metalwork
Object type
Ring brooch
Materials and techniques
Gold, enamel
Gold
Enamel
Enamelling
Brief description
Ring brooch, gold, with black letter inscription, English or French, 1400-1500
Physical description
Ring brooch, gold, made from sheet and filled with pitch (the pitch is visible where the engraving breaks the surface), engraved and enamelled. Traces of a reddish-brown enamel on both the obverse and the reverse; traces of paraffin wax consolidant.

Dimensions
  • Diameter: 2.8cm
  • Depth: 4mm
Measured by Clementine Loustric on 02/12/2022 in preparation for LNO2011, Love & Marriage in the Renaissance, The Holburne Museum, Bath, 26/05/23 - 01/10/2023
Marks and inscriptions
  • Engraved on the obverse with the inscription in French: 'canc*d/epaer/ tir' [Modern French, 'sans departir'] (In French, in black letter, on the obverse)
    Translation
    'Without being parted''
  • The reverse is engraved with a wreath of bows and pine sprigs.
Credit line
Given by Dame Joan Evans
Subjects depicted
Scroll
Lozenge
Rosette
Quatrefoil
Association
Evans, Joan Dame
Bibliographic references
  • Lightbown, Ronald. Medieval European Jewellery: with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1992.
  • Campbell, Marian. Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500. London, V&A Publishing, 2009. ISBN 9781851775828
  • Page, Sophie and Wallace, Marina Spellbound: magic, ritual and witchcraft, Ashmolean, 2018, p.61 (note - caption refers to M.49-1975)
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.44-1975

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15208/ring-brooch-unknown/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest