Medieval Knight's Decorated Bronze Sword Pommel

Comprising a D-section hoop with the shoulders formed as stylised beast-heads, a discoid bezel with fleur-de-lys. 5.01 grams, 22.48 mm overall, 18.86 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)



Found UK. Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

A circular bezel with a stylised flower decoration is soldered onto a thin ribbon-shaped link, which is flat on the inside and has two grooves on the outside. The style of the bezel decoration is Western Medieval, although the ring’s style finds parallels in specimens of Eastern Europe.

D-section hoop and ellipsoid bezel with 'I' beneath a crown in a frame; attached to a collector's card with sample seal impression and legend 'Ixworth 1861 J.W.'. 10.66 grams total, 26.89 mm overall, 22.20 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X 1/2, USA 11 3/4, Europe 26.92, Japan 25)



Found Ixworth, Suffolk, UK, 1861 by J.W. From the collection of Dame Joan Evans (1893-1977), thence gifted during her lifetime to a gentleman collector friend from South East England.

Dame Joan Evans, DBE, FSA, FRHistS, enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an author and historian. She was appointed the president of the Society of Antiquaries in 1959, the first woman to hold this position, serving until 1964. From 1948 to 1951, Joan Evans served as President of the Royal Archaeological Institute. She received the Society’s gold medal in 1973. Joan Evans was honoured with a host of honorary degrees and fellowships, as well as fellowships of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Literature. She was a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, and was appointed a Dame of the British Empire in 1976. She served as a trustee of both the London and the British museums, and as a member of the advisory council of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The hoop with keeled shoulders with lines of pointillé decoration, a hexagonal bezel with an incuse stylised figure. 7.78 grams, 24.23 mm overall, 19.54 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R 1/2, USA 9 3/4, Europe 19.38, Japan 18)



Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

The finger rings worn by merchants and tradesmen were made of different metals. The commonest were in brass or bronze. The merchants and tradesmen ordered various devices to be engraved on the bezels of their rings, and sometimes they gave the appearance of heraldic blazons.