LOT 0350

Medieval Iconographic Gold Ring with Mary, Jesus and Saint Catherine

15TH CENTURY A.D.

7/8 in. (6.17 grams, 21.27 mm overall, 16.93 x 17.98 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)).

The lower shank with twisted ropework detailing and carinated bands, the shoulders with raised median beaded bands flanked by flowers; the bezel in two panels, each with a reserved standing figure, a female saint in floor-length robe; Virgin Mary on the left panel holding infant Jesus; St Catherine supporting her attribute, a wheel.

From a South London family collection of religious artefacts formed in the late 1970s to mid 1980s; thence by descent.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13032-247895.

Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, items 587-588 for type; various versions can also be found in English collections, such as the British Museum in London (Dalton, O.M., Catalogue of the finger rings, Early Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Mediaeval and later, London, 1912, nos.722 ff.), the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (Oman, C.C., Catalogue of Finger Rings, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1930, nos.720-722-724 and 729), the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Taylor, G., Scarisbrick, D., Fingerings from Ancient Egypt to the present day, London/Oxford, 1978, no.412), the Collection Ralph Harari (Boardman, J., Scarisbrick, D., The Ralph Arari Collection of Finger Rings, London, 1977, no.193, also with Mary and the Child) and the Sammlung Guilhou (De Ricci, S., Catalogue of a collection of ancient rings formed by the Late Guilhou, O.J., Paris, 1912, no.1171).

This type of ring has been found in England, Scotland, Ireland and therefore appears to originate from the English regions, or from the territories under English domination. For the identification and use of these so-called iconographic finger rings and further parallels, you can see two detailed comparative examples in the Koch Collection. Many of these iconographic rings also had engraved love inscriptions,
although not in our case. These finger rings differ only slightly in ring shape and decoration, but vary in the depictions of saints.