French, circa 1825

Possibly Baron Jérome Pichon;

his posthumous sale, Drouot, Paris, 24 April - 1 May 1897, Catalogue des objets antiques du moyen age, de la Renaissance, etc dépendant de la succession de M. Le Baron Jérome Pichon, lot. 44

This intriguing engraved sapphire follows the famous Anneau sigillaire di 'de saint Louis' 14th-century sigillum ring which was once in the Treasury at Saint-Denis, and is today in the musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. MR 92; date of acquisition 5 December 1793). The Louvre sapphire shows a standing king, crowned, holding the sceptre and orb, flanked by the letters SL, which stand for Sigillum Ludovici. The letters could signify Saint Louis (Louis IX of France), or alternatively his great grandson Louis X le Hutin. The shank with inscription on the Louvre ring is thought to be posterior to the sapphire, probably dating to the 14th-century, and so it is possible that the Saint Louis identification is a later fantasy, perhaps from the time of Charles V, who is known to have owned many relics of Saint Louis.

The present ring is possibly that described in the collection of Baron Pichon, in whose posthumous sale catalogue is listed: (44) Saint Louis. - Fac-similé de la bague-cachet de Louis IX, du Trésor de Saint-Denis (Musée du Louvre). L'anneau, en or émaillé, est semé de fleurs de lis qui se détachent en taille d'épargne sur un fond bleu, et porte, sur sa face interne, l'inscription: C'EST.LE.SINET DV ROI.SANT.LOVIS. Le chaton, de forme rectangulaire, renferme une agate sur laquelle est gravé le saint debout, placé de face, couronné, nimbé, et tenant le sceptre et le globe. Dans le champ, SL (Sanctus Ludovicus), d'une écriture moins ancienne que la gravure.