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Auction: 25055 - British Medals and World Coins featuring The Hurter-Amman Collection of Ancient and European Gold
Lot: 707

Medieval Emerald and Gold Ring (c. 1300-1400), gold finger-ring with emerald set within a 'pie dish' bezel which is sub-lozenge shaped in plan and profile, the emerald dark green and cut as a cabochon, diameter 19.30mm, width (of hoop) 1mm; thickness (of hoop) 1.15mm; height (of bezel) 5.45mm, width (of bezel) 7.00mm; 1.64g [25.31grns], ring size approx. N, [Spink XRF: 88.09% Gold; 6.38% Silver; 5.53% Copper] (cf. PAS: ESS-0840AB, PAS: ESS-C04A06; PAS: SUSS-77260A; PAS: SUR-C32418; PAS: DUR-602602; cf. V&A 638-1871), a complete, wearable decorative finger-ring, characteristic of others from the 14th century, in beautiful condition, well-made and without real signs of wear, there is a small chip in the gold where the bezel holds the stone but otherwise it is an extremely fine example, difficult to view the stone in entirety but some typical inclusions visible, passed down through family line

Provenance

Passed down by familial descent

Reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme but due to the lack of findspot, unable to be recorded



According to XRF analysis, the gold purity is 88.09%, or 21.14 karats



The H M Coroner Report (2019 T566), dated January 2020, for a different medieval emerald ring (DEV-768804) makes reference to the use of emerald, which probably heralded from Egyptian mines (Jennings et al 1993). It goes on to state that "late medieval and post medieval lapidaries describe a number of potential apotropaic uses for emeralds, often associated with the maintenance of chastity due to their supposed ability to shatter during adulterous intercourse (Dobson 2018), an association referenced in an English 14th century context by Chaucer in the Prioress’ Tale as “this gemme of chastity, this emerald” although earlier classical authors including Pliny the Elder and Aristotle commented on its ability to improve business matters and win opinion. (Healy 1981)’."

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Estimate
£1,000 to £1,500

Starting price
£700