Mastery of Design: A Gold and Sapphire Signet Ring, 1275-1325

Signet Ring
100 BC to 1400?
The Victoria & Albert Museum

It’s quite grand that this medieval ring, set with a much earlier sapphire intaglio (which was probably carved in Greece around the first century BC) has survived in such good condition.  In the Middle Ages, between the Twelfth and Fourteenth Centuries, ancient gems like this one were frequently re-set for use as personal seals which were employed in authenticating letters and legal documents.

The inscription around the bezel of this ring: “Tecta lege, lecta tege” is translated as “Read what is written, hide what is read.”  So, clearly, this ring was employed as a personal signet.  Why this intaglio of a woman in profile wearing a veil was chosen, we may never know. The ancient sapphire is set in an open-backed mount, allowing it to touch the skin of the wearer. During this period, direct contact of the stone with the skin was believed to convey a medicinal or amuletic benefit.

Most certainly, the setting comes from England.  The stone has been attributed to Greece, and, for awhile, possibly Alexandria, Egypt.

Curiously, the ring was found in a well in Hereford in 1824.