The Romans were skilled locksmiths and invented finger rings in the form of keys. They seem to have been used across the Roman Empire. They are usually made of bronze or iron and the different shapes of the wards suggest that they were intended for use as keys rather than being merely decorative. Key rings may have been used because Roman clothing does not generally have pockets or perhaps for the added security of always having the key on your person. The key rings opened small boxes or caskets of personal possessions such as jewellery boxes rather than doors or cupboards. It is possible that they were particularly worn by women, perhaps after marriage as a sign of their new status. Keys and locks might also have had an amuletic significance, relating to the power of the key to secure and protect or open and reveal.

Roman key rings have been found in some numbers in British archaeological sites including London and Colchester. The excavation of a Roman grave in Colchester in the 1970s uncovered a wooden box with copper fittings which had been buried with the key ring still in the lock. A key ring was found with the remnants of a casket and lock mechanism in an excavation at Elsenham, Essex which has been dated to the mid 2nd century AD.

This ring, along with six other Roman key rings, was given to the V&A by Dr Walter Leo Hildburgh (1876 - 1955), a notable collector and antiquarian. Dr Hildburgh was born in New York in 1876. After obtaining a PhD from Columbia University he worked in scientific research. A man of independent means, he pursued a range of interests: he became an international figure-skater (known as ‘The Egg’ on account of his premature baldness), was an excellent swimmer, and studied folklore (he became a member of the Folklore Society in 1906), anthropology, and magic. In 1912 Hildburgh settled in London and became a frequent visitor to the Victoria and Albert Museum. His gifts to the Museum over the years (including his bequest) amounted to over 5,000 objects, mostly to the Metalwork and Sculpture departments. On the occasion of his seventieth birthday in 1946, Hildburgh presented to the Museum 300 examples of English alabasters. Hildburgh was elected to the fellowship of the Society of Antiquaries in 1915, and was awarded a D.Litt in the History of Art from the University of London in 1937. He died in London in 1955, aged 79.