Jewelry

Flat gold hoop with four cabochon garnets set in low relief collets, flat on the reverse, pin (slightly disformed) mounted on reverse.  In good condition.

Provenance:

Private English Collection.

Literature:

For a detailed study of brooches, including the ring brooch, see R. Lightbown, Medieval European Jewellery, and on the “ring” (also called annular) or circle design, pp. 147-158.  As Lightbown explains, “the ring brooch was broadly speaking the simplest and least assuming of mediaeval brooches, since it was essentially a practical fastener” (p. 147).  The ring design typology includes many types, the pure circle (shown here), as well as quatrefoil, hexagonal, and wheel-like variations. Stones are often set in flat or raised collets; garnets are common.  Many are inscribed with Lombardic letters, some with amorous, others with religious inscriptions.  Symbols, heraldic devices, and mottos also appear on the “ring” brooch. 

Gold ring brooches are usually set with stones, or the hoop is typically engraved with an inscription. This example appears to be a simplified version and may have been a personal choice, less expensive but the message of love remains the same. Garnets were popular in the medieval period, and with their red color they often substituted for rubies, the stone of love (for garnets and stones in the Middle Ages, see Campbell, Medieval Jewellery, London 2009, pp. 28-33). Other such plain brooches have not yet been identified.

J-35112