MEDIEVAL FINGER RING

1300

A fragment of a medieval silver-gilt iconographic finger ring.The complete upper hoop of the ring was probably divided into three pictorial sections of which one side section and the edge of the centre section survive. Too little survives of the centre section to see what design is intended. The engraving work on the surviving side section is not of the highest order but appears to depict a standing figure, possibly bearded. The figure is separated from the hoop by a notched strip. The surviving part of the hoop is ridged with a series of transverse notches across the ridge. The interior is plain.Iconographic finger rings are characteristic of the later medieval period.The bearded figure may represent John the Baptist