Posy Ring inscription God above increase our love

Taking their name from short poems that were literary exercises in Elizabethan England and much cited by Shakespeare, posies were commonplace sentiments often inscribed in rings. This posy is found frequently on rings (see Evans, 1931, p. 38).  Manuscript repertories of posies exist from the late sixteenth century on, and the present posy with a slightly different spelling appears in a commonplace manuscript from 1633. The posy ring gradually went out of fashion only at the end of the eighteenth century.

The rounded hoop, flat on its perimeters, is engraved on the inside with the motto "God above increase our love" written in italic letters.  A maker's mark "W" appears in the hoop.

Literature:

From the Silver Collection; for comparison, see the British Museum (two rings with the same motto, published by Evans, 1931, p. 38, and Dalton, 1912, BM 1152 and BM 1153).

R-367-2