MEDIEVAL FINGER RING

1400

Late 15th or early 16th century silver-gilt ring with much of the gilding worn off. The engraving is very crude. The hoop has spiralled bands enclosing either a geometrical pattern or imitation letters, defined by the hatching or more commonly by the spaces between the hatching. One side of the bezel depicts a figure which at first sight appears to be a naked female - possibly Eve? It may be a figure holding something pressed to their abdomen and chest, such as Saint Barbara holding a tower or another saint holding the emblem of martyrdom. The other side of the bezel depicts two spaces, one decorated with a simple cross, the other with a symbol resembling the sun or a star? If this is an iconographic ring depicting a certain saint or event, it is very difficult to understand the symbolism. The ring was found before the Treasure Act of 1996 came into effect; however, the finder sent images to specialists from the British Museum in and received the result of their analysis in 1997