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 accumulate them. Personally, I discover mourning rings fascinating. I feel there’s one thing fantastic about the concept an incredible loss that may be memorialized with a memento you can put on everytime you wish to consider them.

However this put up isn’t about mourning rings on the whole – this put up is to have 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 in depth mourning collections to ever be offered within the UK, this assortment includes 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 offered 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 a number of the extra notable names, and even in depth household timber for a number of the households represented. There may be extra data in the auction listing, together with pictures of a number of the documentation. It’s really unimaginable.

Right here’s a bit 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 necessary 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 obtained with delight and the rings would have been worn with nice respect. We observe 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 include particulars of those bequests.”

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

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

This extraordinary assortment goes up on the market on September thirtieth, so you should definitely go check out the auction listing at Fellows earlier than then. And when you’re within the UK and resolve to go see the gathering, please inform it good day 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.

Associated