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| Posy Ring Gold, Garnet and Sapphire 1400 This and all related images from: The Victoria & Albert Museum |
Rings inscribed with phrases of love and affection (wee poems) are known, overall, as “posy” rings (deriving from “poesy” or poetry). Occasionally in Latin, these inscriptions typically found in French which was considered the language of courtly love by the elite in medieval Europe. Goldsmiths had reference books of stock phrases from which a lover could select a suitable love note for the ring being made.
The double setting on this ring, with a sapphire and a
garnet, is meant to convey the notion of a pair of lovers. A hidden compartment underneath the bezel,
covered by a sliding panel and unseen to all and known only by the two lovers,
may have held a further token of love or a sentimental keepsake such as a curl
of hair.
The ring’s wide shoulders are engraved with a foliate motif, and terminate in a broad bezel with the double setting. It was made in France around 1400. Made by a now unknown jeweler, it is inscribed “our tour mon coer” meaning, “With all my heart.”
The ring’s wide shoulders are engraved with a foliate motif, and terminate in a broad bezel with the double setting. It was made in France around 1400. Made by a now unknown jeweler, it is inscribed “our tour mon coer” meaning, “With all my heart.”
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