Rights Holder: The British Museum
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Unique ID: PAS-D077FE
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
A medieval gold finger-ring of the type known as iconographic due to the representations of saints or religious scenes that characterise them. The hoop of this ring is engraved with five different scenes, each contained within an oval bezel and set against a black enamel ground. The scenes are the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Assumption of the Virgin and the Ascension of the Lord.
The ring dates from the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. Examination at the British Museum has established the precious metal content to be in excess of the required ten per cent in relation to its weight.
The degree of preservation of the enamel is unusual (enamel does not survive well in the ground) as is the extended narrative. Rings of this type tend to display saints rather than narrative scenes, apart from the Annunciation, which occurs quite frequently.
This ring is noted by Kennedy (2018, 92, note 56).
Notes:
The find qualifies as Treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act 1996 in terms of both age and precious metal content.
Class: iconographic
Current location of find: British Museum
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure
Treasure case tracking number: 2002T160
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1475
Date to: Circa AD 1525
Quantity: 1
Height: 8 mm
Diameter: 22 mm
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 1st June 2002
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Treasure case number: 2002T160
Museum accession number: 2004,0202.1
Primary material: Gold
Secondary material: Enamel
Completeness: Complete
4 Figure: TF0645
Four figure Latitude: 52.99185416
Four figure longitude: -0.42225014
1:25K map: TF0645
1:10K map: TF04NE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kennedy, K. | 2018 | English Iconographic Rings and Medieval Populuxe Jewelry | Leiden | Brill | 92 | 56 |