FINGER RING

Period: 14^th-early15th Century

Description: Gold with blue stone, set on the bezel within a nine-cusped setting, the stone cut octagonally. The hoopsmall and flat and left plain on the inside. The outside on either side of the stone is engraved with the infant Christ on one side and a female saint, crowned and nimbed holding a crown in each hand.

The British Museum Department of Scientific Research carried out non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis of the metal which indicated a surface composition of approximately 58-59% gold, 24-25 % silver, the rest being copper. Traces of what appear to be green and black enamel survive in the recesses of the engravings. The gemstone was identified by Raman spectroscopy as corundum which when blue is known as sapphire.

Dimensions:
Length: 21 mm
Height: 10.5 mm
Width: 19 mm
Thickness: 1 mm
Weight: 5.85 g

Discussion: Compare the setting and cut of the central stone with the ring from the tomb of William Wytlesey, Archbishop of Canterbury, [died 1374] at Canterbury Cathedral which is inscribed with his name on the inside of the hoop in black letter: A.Ward, J.Cherry, C.Gere andB.Cartledge, The Ring, London 1981, cat.148. The cusped setting however continues in use later, see ibid cat.171, and the engraved figures on the hoop might date the ring slightly later, into the 15^th Century or later.

Preliminary research by Naomi Speakman, with assistance from John Cherry and Jos Koldeweij, indicates that the female saint is Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. She is depicted in contemporary art holding a stack of three crowns or, as in the example of this ring, crowned and holding two crowns. The saint is depicted in a wide variety of media, such as a hand-coloured woodcut dating from c.1475 in the British Museum (1901.0611.2) and an ivory belt pendant from t private collection in London.[1] Examples of Elizabeth holding two crowns can be found in an illuminated initial in a manuscript now at The Hague, from South Holland and Utrecht, dating from c.1440-1460 (KB, 133 E 17, Fol.201r) and an illumination in the Golden Legend, originating from Bruges, dating from c. 1470 (Mâcon - BM - ms. 0003). The male figure may represent the Christ Child, in an early 16^th century style, or Saint Simon of Trent, see a German woodcut in the British Museum dating from 1511 (1932,0229.7). A wing of an altarpiece depicting both Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and Simon of Trent is in the collection of the Diocesan Museum, Brixen, dating from 1485-1495. The depiction of these two continental saints is not found on English iconographic finger rings, and it is possible that this ring originated from the Netherlands or Northern German. However, further research is required to establish similar examples in metalwork.

Non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis of the finger ring took place at the British Museum. This indicated a surface composition of approximately 58-59% gold, 24-25 % silver, the rest being copper. Traces of what appear to be green and black enamel survive in the recesses of the engravings. The gemstone was identified by Raman spectroscopy as corundum which when blue is known as sapphire.

[1] This can be accessed via the Courtauld Institute of Art's Gothic Ivories Project, http://www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk/images/ivory/D18EE5D6_4f895922.html.