English, late 15th century

the round bezel containing a swivelling plaque cut in intaglio: SR intwined on one side and with a merchants mark on the other; the shoulders inscribed: IHESUS. NAZARENUS. REX. IUDEORUM and IHESUS. MARIA. IOHANNES., and on the inside of the hoop: IHESUS AUTEM TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT (Luke 3:14)

Edouard Guilhou, Paris, before 1909;
his sale, Sotheby's London, 12 November 1937, lot 609;
H. Neame;
Sotheby's London, 3 April 1984, lot 150;
with Mrs Baer, London
with Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, London;
private collection

S. de Ricci, Catalogue of a collection of ancient rings formed by the late E. Guilhou, Paris, 1912, pp. 153, no. 1263
D. Scarisbrick, Rings. Symbols of wealth, power and affection, London, 1993, p. 16

Overall the condition of the ring is very good with wear and some dirt to the surface consistent with age and handling. There is rubbing to some of the relief, particularly at the underside of the hoop. Small areas of black enamel were lost from the text on the shoulders and the stipples around the seal on the bezel possibly had coloured enamel. There are a few nicks, including to the underside of the edges of the seals and on the inside of the hoop at the shoulders and bezel. There is some looseness to the axle of the swivel. In a leather pouch.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present ring is among the most refined merchant’s rings from the late Middle Ages. Its design, with twisting bands of beads on the hoop leading to triple-channelled shoulders and a circular bezel with a stippled rim, is much like the fine signet rings retrieved from the bodies of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, after the Battle of Barnet and King Richard III after the Battle of Bosworth (see Scarisbrick 1993, op.cit., pp. 15, 30-31 and Oman, op.cit., no. 40 E). The inscriptions, which grace both the inside and the shoulders, are applied in a wonderful late Gothic hand. The line from the Gospel of Luke (4:30) inside the hoop appears both on coinage, such as 14^th-century English Nobles, and other merchant’s rings, like a 14^th-century Italian merchant’s ring mentioned by Scarisbrick (op.cit., p. 14). The sentence translates as: But Jesus passing through their midst went on his way, and was meant to protect the wearer on his journeys. The swivel, lastly, is extremely rare in this type of ring. The merchant’s mark on one side would be used to identify the owner’s goods whilst the initials on the other side may have served to seal personal documents. One further English gold merchant’s ring with a hexagonal bezel, which is held in the British Museum, reveals a memento mori inscription on its ‘hidden’ side (inv. no. 1871,0302.5).

Signet rings are usually heraldic, but there are also examples with rebuses, occupational symbols and merchant’s marks. The latter served to identify one’s goods and needed to be simple so as to be both easily distinguishable and applicable in paint. In England they were often designed to look like vanes or mastheads and usually consisted of a simple combination of intertwined symbols, letters and numbers. Here a simplified six-point star is surmounted by a cross and an inverted 7.

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Oman, British Rings 800-1914, London, 1974, pp. 30-34 and 102-104, pls. 40-42; G. Taylor, Finger rings from Ancient Egypt to the present day, exh. cat. Goldsmith’s Hall, London and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, London, 1978, pp. 53-54; D. Scarisbrick, Rings. Symbols of wealth, power and affection, London, 1993, pp. 14-17 and 30-31