A gold iconographic ring with a rectangular hoop engraved with a depiction of St Christopher carrying Jesus as a child across a swollen river on his back, triangular shoulders with incised lines below the bezel, the hoop formed of seven ovoid panels, each inscribed with a lower-case blackletter initial and a leaf, the letters forming the word 'loyalte' for loyalty; the ring was discovered with 'amer et celer' posy ring inside it, also offered in this sale, the rings were found wedged together and deposited as a sign of eternal love, possibly after the death of a loved one or after a secret love affair was discovered and cruelly ended.

PROVENANCE:
Found East Bridgford, Nottinghamshire on 8th July 2015; declared as Treasure under the Treasure Act with reference number 2015T509 and disclaimed; accompanied by a copy of the British Museum’s report for H M Coroner, a letter from Derby Museums, and a letter from the British Museum to H M Coroner, Miss Mairin Casey.

PUBLISHED:
Willis, Alastair 50 Finds from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire – Objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Stroud, 2016, p.72 & 73; and on the front cover of Garrett, Vaughan Vaughan Garrett’s Favorite Finds Metal Detecting Book, 2019; recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme with reference number DENO-508A9A; accompanied by a print out of the PAS report and copies of the front covers of the books and copies of pages 72 and 73 of 50 Finds from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire – Objects from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

FOOTNOTES:
According to the legend, a hermit instructed St Christopher in the Christian faith and suggested that he could serve Christ by assisting people to cross a dangerous river, due to his large size. One day, after he had performed this duty for a while, a small child came to him and asked him to help him to cross the river. During the crossing the river started to swell and the child became very heavy to carry. St Christopher was forced to lift the child on his shoulders and could barely make it to the the other side of the river. After reaching the riverbank, he said to the child 'You have put me in the greatest danger. I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were.' The child replied before vanishing: 'You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work.'