Renaissance Gold Marriage Ring with Table-Cut Rock Crystal

Squirt Ring West European, 1800-1900 Silver, gold, rock crystal Weight 9.4 gr.; circumference 60.38 mm.; cylinder length 41.2 mm US size 9 ¼ ; UK size S ¼ Fascinating nineteenth century party piece, incorporating an elegant and sparkling ring Description: Squirt ring made of a hollow silver cylinder with four ornamental bands and a cap with plunger. This holds the liquid, and when the plunger is pulled out and pushed back in the squirt mechanism is triggered. At the other end is a hollow ring through which the liquid flows and then squirts out of a small hole on the band next to the gemstone. The gold ring, angled to the cylinder, has a tubular hoop and a gold round-shaped cup bezel with a silver-set, facetted rock crystal gemstone. The ring is fully functionable. The cylinder lies concealed in the palm of the hand. Punched on the cylinder is a swan, the French guarantee mark for the fineness of silver on items of unknown origin (in use from 1893-1970). Along the gold hoop of the ring are four indistinct hallmarks: a helmeted head (?), two rectangular punch marks, one with lower case ‘g’ in the corner, and traces of two illegible punches. Provenance: Yves Brasseur (26 February—11 August 2005), Ghent, Belgium, a collector of rings who was a Belgian fencer of Olympic stature, having competed in this sport in the Olympics in the 1960s. Literature: The earliest account of a squirt ring dates to about 1770 with the description of a diplomatic incident at the Court of Frederick the Great. The French ambassador M. de Guines belonged to the diplomatic corps in Berlin, the capital of the Prussian Empire. His pompous behavior was widely mocked. Prince Dolgorouki, the Russian ambassador was invited to a gala dinner as a guest of honor with his newly wed bride. She was seated next to the French ambassador whom she squirted with water from a mechanism concealed in the palm of her hand, when he was admiring her jewel. He vowed he would throw a glass of water at her if she continued. The ambassador’s wife ignored his warning, and he in fact put his threat into effect. The guests at the dinner were obliged to keep a discreet silence surrounding this embarrassing occurrence. The fashion for such squirt rings appears to have continued into the nineteenth century, although few examples are known. The designs and materials vary: bronze ring with mask of Silenus in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Silenus, the god of wine-making and drunkenness, appears again on a squirt ring in form of a garnet cameo...

Fede ring Western Europe, 16th - 17th century Gold Weight 3.8 gr; Circumference 61.64 mm; US size 9 3/4; UK Size T ¼ A delightful, sculpturesque Fede ring conveying love and loyalty Plain gold hoop...

Renaissance Gemstone Ring Northern Italy, 16th century Gold, garnet and enamel Circumference 60 mm.; weight 4 gr.; US size 9; UK size R ½ The ...

RENAISSANCE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT CAMEO IN MODERN GOLD SETTING Italy (?), 16th-17th century White agate, modern gold setting Weight: 10.8 g.; circumference: 54.4 mm.; size: US 7, UK N ½ Substantial rounded D-section hoop, narrowing at the base supports an oblong collet set with a white agate cameo. The cameo features a female bust behind a male bust in profile facing to the viewer’s left. The man has a curly beard, wears a fillet in his closely cropped hair, and wears a draped toga; the woman is less well defined and wears a palla. Both portraits have flat features. The carving has a metallic quality to its lines which enhances the sheen of the stone. The cameo is in excellent condition; the mount is modern. The Renaissance welcomed a revival in the ancient art of gem carving and cameos achieved renewed popularity. Important patrons, like the Medici, employed artists and goldsmiths to make dozens of beautiful examples that harkened back to antiquity and displayed current fashions. Double portraits of a man and woman, as with this ring, are called marriage portraits. They take their form from cameos of Roman rulers, mythological lovers, and citizen couples. Literature This couple could be a sixteenth-century copy of an ancient gem or it could represent a Renaissnce couple in the guise of a Roman couple. The features do not point to any well-known couples. A double portrait cameo in the Royal Collection (RCIN 65861) provides a nice comparison to this ring and is from the same period. For an ancient example of the double portrait cameo see the Metropolitan Museum’s Germanicus and Agrippina (39.22.18) cameo. Another comparison, see the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (a 17th-century cameo with the double portrait of a couple in a three-layered agate, published in Babelon, 1897, n. 1019). For general information on Renaissance cameos...

Renaissance Ring Western Europe, likely Italy, mid-16th c. Gold and traces of black and white enamel Bezel 15 x 3 x 4 mm.; circumference 42 mm.; weight 2.7 gr.; US size 2 ¼; UK size ...

Cross Pendant with Rock Crystals Spain or Portugal, late 17th - early 18th century Silver, gold, rock crystal Weight 9.1 gr.; Dimensions 56.3 × 38.8 mm. An elaborate and elegant cross pendant made of silver with rock crystals in closed settings. The center consists of a larger round gemstone surrounded by five irregular-shaped stones forming the cross. The openwork arms have a triangular shape and are formed of facetted rock-crystals in foliate settings. The obverse side of the cross consists of a layer of gold. An extension with two stones and an angular shaped frame is hooked into the pendant loop, probably to be worn on a velvet band. The pendant is in good, wearable condition. After the Reformation, cross pendants were worn mainly in Catholic countries by men, women, and children. During the seventeenth century, the designs became ever more intricate, and the crosses were often embellished with gemstones, such as rock crystals in this example. These were sourced along the Alpine regions of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Southern Germany. The stones gave the appearance of diamonds. The foliate settings are characteristic of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century jewelry made in Spain...

A scarce late Renaissance gold ring, made in Western Europe, circa 1580-1620! The quatrefoil bezel takes the form of a flower petals and contai...

A stunning example of a European renaissance ring dating to 1550-1600! A table-cut rock crystal is mounted in a closed back rub over setting. The quatrefoil bezel is cuffed with a re...

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1 Ring in 750/ Red Gold, set with 1x Diamond (cushion, antique-cut, VS2, 1.16ct). This stone is antique inspired with a very deep, impactful color saturation with a shade of brown t...

A simple and clean 18 carat gold ring with an step cut diamond (2.00 carat, J, VS2) set in a box setting with prongs, France. weight: 3.80 grams ring size...