Post Medieval Gold Mourning Ring with Skull

ENGLAND, DATED 1725 A.D.

3/4 in. (2.30 grams, 21.23 mm overall, 18.06 x 15.80 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)).

With a chased hoop engraved externally: 'L: ROGERS.OB:19.AUG:1725.AET:22', fluted octagonal bezel set with an onyx intaglio engraved with an intertwined LR monogram and a skull and crossbones, triangular shoulders with small silver settings.

Provenance

Acquired on the European art market.
UK, private collection.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13499-263472.

Literature

Cf. a similar ring in Tsoumas, J., ‘Mourning Jewelry in Late Georgian and Victorian Britain: a world of fantasy and tears’ in Convergências, Volume XV, November 2022 (30), pp.121-133, fig.1.

Footnotes

The memento mori jewellery of the 16th-18th centuries served as wearable ‘reminders of mortality’. Typical motifs within this genre included skulls, skeletons, crossbones, hourglasses, coffins, the gravedigger’s pick and shovel, and various other emblems of death and decay.

CONDITION

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LOT 0365