Medieval Pie-Dish Garnet Ring
From the Journal
Medieval Rings: Stirrup Rings, Posy Rings and the Power of Stones
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A late 13th-century gold ring, made in France or England around 1280, set with a large 11ct garnet cabochon.Victorian collectors called this type a 'pie-dish' or 'moule à tarte' (tart-mould) ring, because the octagonal box bezel, with its delicately scooped profile, resembles a pastry case. The irregular garnet sits neatly inside, and the bezel stands proud of a solid hoop of round section. Such rings were especially popular in the last decades of the 13th century.Medieval lapidaries, books on the powers of stones, credited garnets with protecting against poison, plague and nightmares. The Church saw in them the blood of Christ, and royalty wore them for protection. A stone of this size and quality suggests a high-ranking noble or clergyman.Closely related rings are in the Alice and Louis Koch Collection (560 and 566, Swiss National Museum), the Hermitage (30-738), the V&A (M.285-1962) and the British Museum (AF.1817); six more are recorded as Treasure on the Portable Antiquities Scheme.Details: c.1280; France or England; tests as 22K gold; garnet cabochon 11ct, 9mm x 6mm; bezel 14mm x 15mm, standing 5mm; hoop 2mm; UK R½, US 9; approx. 6.2g.Condition: Original, and in museum-worthy condition.
A late 13th-century gold ring, made in France or England around 1280, set with a large 11ct garnet cabochon.
Victorian collectors called this type a 'pie-dish' or 'moule à tarte' (tart-mould) ring, because the octagonal box bezel, with its delicately scooped profile, resembles a pastry case. The irregular garnet sits neatly inside, and the bezel stands proud of a solid hoop of round section. Such rings were especially popular in the last decades of the 13th century.
Medieval lapidaries, books on the powers of stones, credited garnets with protecting against poison, plague and nightmares. The Church saw in them the blood of Christ, and royalty wore them for protection. A stone of this size and quality suggests a high-ranking noble or clergyman.
Closely related rings are in the Alice and Louis Koch Collection (560 and 566, Swiss National Museum), the Hermitage (30-738), the V&A (M.285-1962) and the British Museum (AF.1817); six more are recorded as Treasure on the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Details: c.1280; France or England; tests as 22K gold; garnet cabochon 11ct, 9mm x 6mm; bezel 14mm x 15mm, standing 5mm; hoop 2mm; UK R½, US 9; approx. 6.2g.
Condition: Original, and in museum-worthy condition.
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