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Description: | A gold posy ring of very small size (internal diameter just 12.1mm). There is engraved foliate and floral decoration on the exterior of the hoop; six flowers with foliage weaving between them. There are possibly traces of black enamel in the recesses. The ring is inscribed on the interior "A frindes token" in slanted, lowercase (except for the A), un-joined letters. There is no maker's mark. The band is D shaped in section. The ring has an external diameter of 13.76mm and the band is 2.59mm wide and 1.2mm thick. It weighs 0.78g.Posy rings were love tokens often used as betrothal and wedding gifts. The exterior face could be plain or have ornate decoration with enamel, as with this example. The inscription was placed on the inside, so that the message remained secret to all but the wearer and the giver.Compare to SWYOR-B03065 (2007 T634), BH-7C9BF0 (2010 T132), PAS-8D9952 (2006 T101) and WILT-765627 (2008 T592). These are all 17th century or later. In the absence of a maker's mark, it is not possible to establish whether this ring pre-dates 1710.The precious metal content of the ring fulfils the requirements of the Treasure Act in that it is greater than 10% but it cannot be securely dated to pre-1710 and as such falls outside the provisions of the Treasure Act 1996.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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