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This ring was made in the German town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and dates from the first quarter of the 19th century. It is a rare example of the traditional jewellery of South Germany, worn in places like Bavaria and Baden. Schwäbisch Gmünd is a small town in southern Germany which has produced silver objects and jewellery since the 14th century. It was best known for its religious jewellery, but it also made some purely decorative items such as this ring. The diagonal bands on the shank and the use of red pastes are found all across south German rings, but the use of this pierced frame round the central stone is limited to work from Schwäbisch Gmünd itself.
The pierced shoulders are each decorated with an applied silver flower with red pastes, a design often found on rings from the region and known as a ‘Gmünderblum’.
These rings are particularly rare, are most reside in museum collections. A near identical example resides in the Museum of Applied Arts Vienna (inventory number BJ 693), as well as three similar examples in the Victoria & Albert Museum (accession numbers: 899-1872, 175-1872, 905-1872.
Hallmark on the outer band of the number 13 which indicates .812 silver (this comes from the German ‘lot’ system used for grading silver in 18th and 19th centuries. ’13’ indicates that the ring is made from 13 parts out of a total of 16 silver : high-grade .812 silver). There is also a unicorn head indicating the city mark of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The bead in the centre imitates turquoise and measures 1cm across, the red pastes measure 3mm in diameter. The face measures 15mm from north to south, whilst the band measures 4mm wide.
UK size R 1/2, US size 9
The ring weighs 7.48 grams and remains in excellent condition despite its age.
This ring was made in the German town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, and dates from the first quarter of the 19th century. It is a rare example of the traditional jewellery of South Germany, worn in places like Bavaria and Baden. Schwäbisch Gmünd is a small town in southern Germany which has produced silver objects and jewellery since the 14th century. It was best known for its religious jewellery, but it also made some purely decorative items such as this ring. The diagonal bands on the shank and the use of red pastes are found all across south German rings, but the use of this pierced frame round the central stone is limited to work from Schwäbisch Gmünd itself.
The pierced shoulders are each decorated with an applied silver flower with red pastes, a design often found on rings from the region and known as a ‘Gmünderblum’.
These rings are particularly rare, are most reside in museum collections. A near identical example resides in the Museum of Applied Arts Vienna (inventory number BJ 693), as well as three similar examples in the Victoria & Albert Museum (accession numbers: 899-1872, 175-1872, 905-1872.
Hallmark on the outer band of the number 13 which indicates .812 silver (this comes from the German ‘lot’ system used for grading silver in 18th and 19th centuries. ’13’ indicates that the ring is made from 13 parts out of a total of 16 silver : high-grade .812 silver). There is also a unicorn head indicating the city mark of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The bead in the centre imitates turquoise and measures 1cm across, the red pastes measure 3mm in diameter. The face measures 15mm from north to south, whilst the band measures 4mm wide.
UK size R 1/2, US size 9
The ring weighs 7.48 grams and remains in excellent condition despite its age.
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