Beschreibung:

POST MEDIEVAL ENAMELLED CHARLES I MEMORIAL SKULL RING Mid-17th century AD A gold band ring with black enamelled scrolling decoration to the shoulders; round bezel set with enamel portrait of Charles I facing forward, goatee beard and long hair to shoulders, rock crystal cover over portrait; underside of ring engraved with skull with C R to either side, above '30th Jan', and below '1648'. 6 grams, 23.40mm overall, 21.00mm internal diameter (approximate ring size British W 1/2, USA 11 1/4, Europe 25.97, Japan 25) (1"). Very fine condition. A large wearable size. Provenance Ex Bunker collection, Hertfordshire, UK; acquired at an art fair in Oxford, 1970. Supplied with a positive X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate. Footnotes Memorial jewellery, such as this ring, would have been produced shortly after the execution of Charles I so that the wearer could both mourn the death of the king and show allegiance to the crown, a considerably dangerous thing to do during the republic set up by Oliver Cromwell. Through the use of the black enamel on the shoulders, death is signified, and its mix of Baroque and Moresque design to create the floral elements is elegantly balanced and frames the raised bezel, which was typical for mid to late 17th century rings. The Moresque style derives from the term “Moorish” in English, and is applied to art styles of the 16th and 17th centuries, seen in jewels with the elaborate patterns which take on a floral nature. The blue background of the portrait denotes the royal connections of the subject, and the fact that Charles is looking up to heaven shows that he has become a martyr. Whilst history documents the monarch’s execution on the day of January 30, 1649, the