Fulford ring

The Fulford ring is a medieval gold ring with emerald and ruby settings found by metal detectorist Paul Ibbotson in December 2016.[1][2][3] It was acquired by the Yorkshire Museum in 2019.[1]

Fulford ring
MaterialGold, with emerald and ruby settings.
Period/cultureMedieval
Discovered29 December 2016
Fulford, North Yorkshire
Present locationYorkshire Museum, York
IdentificationYORYM-DE9DA0
YORYM : 2019.51

Description

The ring is complete and dates to the 15th Century AD. It has a ruby and an emerald set into the double-bezel and floriate, chip-carved decoration on each side of the band. The side decoration was originally filled with niello. It measures 19.7 mm in length, 7.1 mm in width and has an internel diameter of 15.6 mm. It weighs 4.42 g. X-ray fluorescence of the metal indicated that the ring had a surface composition of approximately 76–79% gold, 12–15% silver, the rest being copper (c. 8–10%). Raman spectroscopy was used to identify the gem stones.[1]

Significance

The ring probably functioned as a love token or betrothal ring. Medieval lapidaries suggest that emeralds were associated with chastity and rubies with love and prevention of anger, which may have been important qualities in a medieval relationship.[3]

Acquisition and display

The ring was bought by York Museums Trust in 2019 for £20,000 with funding from the Headley Museums Archaeological Acquisition Fund, the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and public donations. The ring first went on public display in the Yorkshire Museum in September 2019.[3]

gollark: I mean, maybe.
gollark: Mostly.
gollark: In modern countries we mostly don't have it, happily.
gollark: More of a thing which happens a lot in some types of society, I guess.
gollark: I don't think slavery even is human nature particularly.

References
  1. "FINGER RING: YORYM-DE9DA0". Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  2. Laycock, M. (12 August 2017). ""Oh my God, this is the find of a lifetime!"- detectorist's reaction when he finds this ring in a York field". The Press. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  3. "Buried in Fulford for 500 years, this gold ring could have belonged to royalty". YorkMix. 7 January 2019.
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