Effortlessly chic stylized stag ring by Maison Auclert: a refined reinterpretation of a medieval artifact

Heavy, highly polished, gold ring with deep D-section. The bezel forms a framed support for the almost invisibly set sculptural and stylized stag head made of gilded silver. The ring is in excellent wearable condition.  Engraved inside the hoop is the name “AUCLERT” and “P9MA37’’ for Maison Auclert, Paris.  On the exterior of the hoop is an eagle head, the French guarantee mark for 18 carat gold, and lozenge-shaped Parisian maker’s mark.

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We do not know from what type of medieval object the stag derives, but in style and fabrication it resembles fifteenth- and sixteenth-century metalwork, perhaps Germany, although France and England remain possible origins.  Closest is a silver-gilt stag that forms the bezel of a fifteenth- or sixteenth-century ring in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Inv. 1204-1903, described and illustrated online).  As in the present artifact, the bezel encloses a cast stag, his antlers splayed, his snout long and ridged.  Similar stags adorn German brassware, the image hammered in relief (Victora and Albert Museum, Inv. M.109-1933). The stag was the emblem of King Charles VI and appears frequently on heraldic objects (cf. Musee du Louvre, OA 120152).  One of the chief badges of Richard II (a pun on Rich-hart), hart badges also proliferate in English metalwork (cf. M. Mitchiner, Medieval Pilgrim and Secular Badges, London, n.d, pp. 120-121). Perhaps our stag-hart comes from a larger free-standing metalwork object, such as a Fountain (see Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1924.859).

Our stag was refashioned as a ring by Maison Auclert (founded 2010), a Parisian company known for its collection of ancient objects from a broad range of historical periods that are then tastefully transformed into modern jewels.  Marc Auclert acquired the stag in the 1990s from a French Private Collection. On the Maison Auclert, see the podcast by “The Jewelry Journey”: Ancient Jewels as Modern Wearable Art with Marc Auclert, Designer & Founder of Maison Auclert - Jewelry Journey (thejewelryjourney.com).

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