LOT 0339

Medieval Gold Ring Brooch with Garnets and 'Let us Live as One Soul’ Posy Inscription

13TH-14TH CENTURY A.D.

1 1/2 in. (8.76 grams, 38 mm).

An annular brooch with pelletted edges, six garnet cabochons adorning the brooch, each in a tall closed setting; inscribed on the front 'VIVAMTINVNOANI', the reverse inscribed with 'AMORIVNTVANVNTVI' divided between two palmettes.

Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Private collection, UK.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12989-245987.

Cf. a similar, smaller ring brooch can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 2018.355; see also The British Museum, London, museum nos. 1849,0301.32 and AF.2683, for comparison.

Both inscriptions can be interpreted differently according to the order of their reading; the front can be read ‘IN JUNO ANI VIVAM TI’, which roughly translates as ‘May I live for you in the fastening’, alternatively ‘VIVAM[vs] IN VNO ANI[mo]’ which roughly translates as ‘Let us live as one soul’. The back reads: 'AMORIVNTVANVNTVI' ‘AMOR[is]    IVN[c]T[i]    ANVNTIV[s]’ which roughly translates as ‘a message of joint love’.

The inscriptions on the brooch serve as metaphors, linking its function of fastening materials to the binding of lovers in medieval romance. Gift-giving was central to courtly love, and the brooch symbolised both affection and protection, reminding the wearer of the giver’s love while also warding off unwanted advances.