100 years of grief in a single mourning ring assortment.

Mourning rings and mourning jewellery are a distinct segment merchandise for jewellery collectors: they’re lovely however so intimate that not all collectors are drawn to amass them. Personally, I discover mourning rings fascinating. I believe there’s one thing fantastic about the concept that a terrific loss that may be memorialized with a memento that you may put on everytime you need to consider them.

However this submit isn’t about mourning rings basically – this submit is to take a look at one really distinctive assortment of mourning rings that’s headed for public sale in Fellows September 30th Fine Jewellery Sale.

One of the vital intensive mourning collections to ever be bought within the UK, this assortment contains sixty-three (!!) Georgian and William IV mourning rings. The rings have been collected by Elizabeth Snaith (1805-1890) within the nineteenth century and the present proprietor is a descendant of the Snaith Household. The gathering has by no means has by no means been bought earlier than.

Each ring within the assortment is gold with enamel with one skeleton band (pictured above within the decrease proper hand nook of the picture).

The gathering contains rings memorializing fifty distinct people and has been extensively researched. The itemizing contains documentation assembled by the collector, together with the names on the rings, their household connections, historical past for among the extra notable names, and even intensive household bushes for among the households represented. There’s extra data in the auction listing, together with images of among the documentation. It’s really unimaginable.

Right here’s somewhat extra background from Fellows:

The giving and carrying of mourning rings occurred broadly within the interval to the late nineteenth century. Many testator offering funds of their wills to vital benefactors for the acquisition of a hoop to be worn in the course of the interval of mourning. Such a benefaction was an honour and would have been acquired with satisfaction and the rings would have been worn with nice respect. We notice that most of the named individuals that happen on this assortment left wills that gained probate on the Prerogative Courtroom of Canterbury, and their wills comprise particulars of those bequests.”

When you’ve ever tried to purchase a mourning ring you perceive how scarce and coveted they’re and the way exceptional it’s that this assortment has SIXTY THREE of all of them collectively! It blows my thoughts greater than somewhat bit.

I’m so glad that these mourning rings made their method into the arms of a collector who handled them with respect and preserved them so superbly. I hope whoever is the following proprietor of this standout assortment will safeguard it simply as fastidiously.

This extraordinary assortment goes up on the market on September thirtieth, so make sure to go check out the auction listing at Fellows earlier than then. And when you’re within the UK and determine to go see the gathering, please inform it hiya for me.

Click on right here to see extra about mourning jewellery or right here to see extra posts about auctions at Fellows.

All photographs c/o Fellows.

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