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FINGER RING
Unique ID: SF-6A8812
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
An incomplete copper alloy late medieval signet/seal finger ring. The band is trapezoidal in shape with a narrower outer surface and wider reverse. The band expands at the shoulders to meet an oval bezel. The outer face of the bezel has a deep groove encircling it and in the centre is an engraved lombardic-style M with a crude incised branch above it. A section of the band is missing to one side and there are patches of corrosion on the surface in places.
The ring is fairly large in size suggesting that it may have been intended to be worn over a glove, or it may simply be bent out of shape.
A number of very similar examples have now been recorded with the PAS, suggesting that this style of ring was fairly standardised: e.g. KENT-017AA5, HAMP-AC269F, SOM-DEAB76, SOM-16624A.
Harvey & McGuiness (1996, 93) note that this design(the first intial crowned and/or flanked by branches) became especially frequent in the 15th century. There are two similar examples in the collections of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, which have been dated to the 15th century (Saunders 1991, 46, fig. 12, nos.18&20).
Length: 29.62mm, width: 24.41mm, width of band: 5.37mm, thickness of band: 3.15mm, width of bezel: 10.60mm, thickness of bezel: 3.90mm, weight: 8.38g
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1400
Date to: Circa AD 1500
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 29.62 mm
Weight: 8.38 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st January 2017
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
SMR reference number: WM 005
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: Eastern (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Suffolk (County)
District: Suffolk Coastal (District)
To be known as: Wenhaston with Mells Hamlet
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey, P.D.A. and McGuinness, A. | 1996 | A Guide to British Medieval Seals | London | British Library and Public Record Office | |||
| Saunders, P. | 1991 | Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue: Part 1 | Salisbury | Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum |
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Timeline of associated dates
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