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Description: | Gold mourning ring with stylized skull on outside of hoop. The hoop is of flattened D cross-section. The inner face of the hoop is inscribed with the text J. A. ob 25 July 98 aeta 37, in italic script (J. A. died 25th July ..98 aged 37).Internal hoop diameter 19 mm; band width 2.9mm; band thickness 1 mm; weight 2.7g. The ring has not undergone any cleaning or conservation.The form of the ring and style of lettering indicates that it dates to the late seventeenth century, a date confirmed by the commemorative inscription. The letter forms with top looped 'b' and 'l' , scrolls on 'A', appear on John Ayres's 'A tutor to penmanship; or, the writing master' (1698). The use of two numbers to denote date is also typical of seventeenth-century practice. The skull/death's head as a motif occurs on the earliest mourning rings, dating to the fifteenth century, and the motif remained popular thought the seventeenth century. As the ring is commemorative, it post-dates the date of death, but is likely to have been engraved within a short period. Another mourning ring with stylized skull head from Hundleton, Pembrokeshire, bears a similar inscription, dated 1703 (Treasure Case 13.24).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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