A Posy Ring from North America

Gold band with D-section, plain on the exterior and on the interior engraved with the inscription in italic script: “A true frinds gift.” The ring shows signs of wear through age and is in good wearable condition.

“Posy rings,” their name deriving from the word poésie or poetry, are rings with sayings either in prose or verse. Like here, the love message was often concealed inside the hoop and its content only known to the giver and recipient. They find mention in plays by William Shakespeare, such as Hamlet and the Merchant of Venice, and they continued to be popular through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They were traditionally exchanged between friends, family, and lovers, or given as betrothal or wedding rings.

In Chapter 9 titled “Goodwill, Love and Friendship” describing examples of the extensive Griffin Collection of posy rings there are four variations of this inscription (Scarisbrick 2021, nos. 80-84). These differ mainly in the spelling of “friend” and “gift”, and the inclusions of the word “true.” Here the term friend is interchangeable with lover.

Dame Joan Evans, the author of the compendium on English Posies, quotes four variations of this motto (Evans, 1931, p. 24 and without the term “true” p. 16). The message “A true friends gift” appears on a ring in the British Museum, London (AF 1190, Dalton 1912, no. 1109) and “A true friends guift” in the Museum of London (62.4/146).

Provenance:

Made in England, the ring was found near Wellfleet, Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and it must have traveled to the New World with its owner.

Literature:

For a history of posy rings with a comprehensive collection ranging from the medieval period to eighteenth century, see: Scarisbrick 2021 and further information on posies: Evans, 1931; Anon., A Garland of Love: A Collection of Posy-Ring Mottoes, London 1907; Dalton 1912, pp. 174 ff.; Scarisbrick 2007, pp. 74 ff., Taylor and Scarisbrick 1978; Oman 1974, pp. 39ff.

R-1065