, England, 14th-15th century
Description
Gold ring with hollow D-section hoop in the lower half, widening towards the beveled shoulders to form a stirrup-shaped outline towards the bezel. This has a flat base in hexagonal shape an irregular-shaped cabochon with collet setting. The ring shows signs of wear through age and is in good wearable condition.
Literature:
The term “stirrup ring” was coined during the nineteenth century and describes the outline of the hoop with bezel, shaped like the stirrup of a horse. Such a ring is illustrated in a thirteenth century drawing by Matthew Paris which was made in 1140 and given by Eleanor of Aquitaine to the abbot of St. Albans (see: Ward et al, 1981, no. 121; Scott and Miller 2015, p. 183). Chadour 1994, vol.1, no. 565). The stirrup ring was popular between the twelfth to fifteenth century, and the forerunner for the form goes back to the eleventh century (Chadour 1994, vol. I, no. 565). For the source and meaning of gems in the Middle Ages, see: Marian Campbell, Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500, London 2009, pp. 28-33, 72.
Early stirrup rings are relatively simple in form and of solid gold, resembling that drawn by Matthew Paris, whereas those from later centuries sometimes have shaped and hollow bezels, as shown here. The presence of a collet is unusual even among later examples.
Stirrup rings are found in museum collections, such as the British Museum, London (1885, 0615.1; 1980, 1202.1; AF 1855); Museum of London (A 1274); Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Oman 1930, no. 251; inv. no. 65-1871); Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Scarisbrick/Henig 2003, Plate 6,1 and WA1897.CDEF.F357); Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (57.10986), The Griffin Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Hindman with Miller 2015. no. 35, see also 2015.697 and 2021.174); The Alice and Louis Koch Collection in the Swiss National Museum, Zurich (Chadour vol.1, no. 565 with further parallels) and Hashimoto Collection in the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (Scarisbrick 2004, no. 109).