Description

Summary: Post-Medieval gold mourning ring, with surviving enamel decoration, dating to AD 1673-4. The ring consists of a triangular sectioned gold hoop, with an exposed ridge of gold, the exterior surface decorated with heavy blue-black enamelling, which is lost in places and a Death’s head in white, which has lost its facial features. The interior of the hoop is engraved, in a curvilinear italic script, with the Latin inscription, 'Animae Vita Mors', meaning ‘The Life of the Spirit is Death'. The hallmark stamped inside the ring gives a date 1673-4. Found near Devizes, 2021.