This elegant ring is typical of the Renaissance, with its elaborate design that combines a gemstone in a high bezel, sculptural elements at the shoulders and colorful enamels. Such rings appear in16th-century pattern books by Virgil Solis, Etienne Delaune and Pierre Woeriot, which circulated widely. Quatrefoil, cinquefoil, and hexafoil bezels were the most characteristic settings for gems at the time, but the type of box bezel set above the hoop on a cushion-like base, as seen here, was almost as popular. Strongly emphasized shoulders, ornate with sculptural details and bright enamels that enhanced the beauty of the stone and the luster of gold, complemented these elaborate settings. During the Renaissance, the ring developed into a miniature work of art, combining the skills of the chaser, engraver, and enameller as well as the stonecutter.

The high bezel, set with a table-cut garnet, is chased with five arches placed atop a moulded base with six compartments enamelled in red. The shoulders of the otherwise plain hoop are ornate with volutes, guilloche and white and red enamel now partially missing. The back of the bezel has been chased and was formerly enamelled.

Literature

For comparison, see the Zucker Family Collection (a gold ring, the hoop terminating at baluster shoulders supporting a quatrefoil bezel, the lower sections of the petals with ornament enamelled white, set with a cabochon ruby, published in Scarisbrick, 2007, n. 334) and the Hashimoto Collection (a late 16th century gold ring, the hoop terminating in winged shoulders enamelled red and white and supporting a raised box bezel set with a rectangular-cut ruby, placed on a cushion-like base, the back of the bezel chased and with traces of enamel, published in Scarisbrick, 2004, n. 158). See also the British Museum (a gold ring set with a ruby, similar in design with a cushion-like base and high bezel, published in Dalton, 1912, n. 1909).

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