352 (30)

325

Finger rings

(Identification of gemstones by Marjorie Hutchinson and Roger Harding)

The thirty-seven finger rings from deposits of the late 12th (ceramic phase 6) to early 15th (ceramic phase 12) centuries manifest a variety of styles and offer a fresh perspective on those worn by ordinary townsfolk rather than by nobles or pre-lates. Five of the rings were madę from precious metals and set with gemstones, but nonę are opulent pieces. The products of craftsmen work-ing in base metals (copper, bronze, brass, gunmetal and pewter), on the other hand, are morę fully represented and provide a useful cor-rective to the impression given by the magnificent medieval finger rings which occur in tombs, treasuries and hoards (see table 7, p 335). They also illustrate the manifold ways in which rings of precious metals were imitated in cheaper mate-rials and often used coloured glass with a high lead content to simulate gemstones.

bezel shoulders hoop

collet

bezel

213 Finger ring terminology

Most finger rings can be classified under the generał term of decorative rings (fig 213). One with a press-moulded glass cameo of a scorpion or crab (no. 1618) probably had amuletic signifi-cance for the wearer, and a gold ring with two tiny gemstones (no. 1611) could have been a form of love ring. There is also a possibility that some of the simple hoops may have been worn as guard rings to protect stone-set rings, but it is uncertain whether this practice was adopted during the period under survey. An early 15th-century tomb effigy madę from alabaster of Lady Wykeham at

St Mary's church, Broughton, Oxfordshire, for example, shows her wearing seven rings on her left hand, including four set with smali cabochons on her fourth finger, two on her bottom joint and two on her upper joint (fig 214). The effigy probably represents the fuli extent of the lady’s finery and it is unlikely that this number of finger rings would have been worn as part of everyday dress.

214 Alabaster effigy of Lady Wykeham, early 15th century, St Mary’s church, Broughton, Oxfordshire (National Portrait Gallery)