#ring brooch

[no-good-wyfe]

I’ve been down a rabbit hole wondering about medieval jewelry (and if I can reproduce it despite having no metalworking skills, to which the answer is mostly no) lately & I figured I would share the fruits of my museum collection searches for other medievalists/hobbyists/reenactors/nerds.

Jewelry of the 13th Century Anglo/Francosphere

TL;DR

Metals: 🟨 gold(tone)

Stones: mostly 🔵 cabochon, rarely 💠 simple cut, some carved 🗿 intaglio or cameo

Stone Colors: warm blues, emerald green, purples, burgundies, reds

Materials: enamel, 💎 gemstones (garnet, Ceylon sapphire, ruby/spinel, emerald) or glass paste imitations, ⚪ semi-precious stones (pearl, lapis, jasper, carnelian, coral, turquoise, porphyry)

Settings: bezel (oval and rectangular); ⚜️ intricate metalwork; more visible and textured metal than modern jewelry; more mixtures of stones and colors than modern tastes

Motifs: ◯ round, ✤ quatrefoil, ✙ cross, ✸ star (even numbers of points), ♣ trefoil, ❦ floral, 🐉 animals, 𝕬 inscription

Formats: brooches, ornamented clothing, rings, pendants, circlets, cuffs (rare)

A detailed look:

Some forms of jewelry that were very popular in the Roman Empire and are again today were just not the thing in the middle European Middle Ages. (Earrings, for example, seem to have barely existed. This is partially at least because ears were covered--by coifs and caps, hair, and (for women) braids or the chin strap and fillet/wimple/gorget.) In fact, a lot of the places we would put jewelry against our skin today were covered.

This left some other options:

Jewelry on Clothing

Medallions

Okay, these aren’t jewelry, strictly speaking, but they’re metalwork ornaments associated with a person.

Enamel Mitre Medallions

OA 3437 and OA 3438 Before 1291, Ile de France Louvre, Paris photos (c) Musée du Louvre / Stéphane Maréchalle 2015

Cloisonné and plique enamel over gold and copper, with decorative motifs of trefoils, quatrefoil, and stars in a palette of dark blue and green with accents that may once have been ruby red.

Appliqué Medallion

# MRR 256 13th c., Limoge Louvre, Paris photo (c) Musée du Louvre 2014

Gilded copper (though most gold is worn off) with quatrefoil champlevé enamel in emerald green, lapis blue, and white or off-white.

Brooches

Perhaps the most prevalent medieval jewelry item in the Anglo & French regions. These were worn at the shoulder for men and breast for women, often anchoring a cloak, or to close the collar. As the ornate fermail and double-ring brooch suggest, these ran the gamut from practical to incredibly decorative and ornate.

Garnet & Silver Gilt Animal Ring Brooch; Green and Blue Glass and Gilt Ring Brooch

Left, # 2003,0703.1 13th century; found in Suffolk, England British Museum, London photo (c) The Trustees of the British Museum

Right, # M.28-1929 13th c., England V&A, London photo © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Cabochon garnets or carbuncles in the gilded silver brooch (L), perhaps once paired with smaller stones in the eyes of metalwork animals that bite the pin bracket. The right brooch, also silver gilt, sports two glass paste emerald and sapphire "gems" in cabochon. It was probably a lover's token; it reads (in Lombardic-lettered French) IOSV ICI ATI VCI or "jo su[i] ici a t[o]i v[o]ici" which I might translate as "I am here with/belonging to you, look!"

Ruby & Sapphire Ring Brooch; Sapphire, Garnet, and Pearl Fermail

Left, # 6808-1860 1275-1300, England V&A, London photo © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Right, # OA6287 1250-1300, France Louvre, Paris photo (c) Musée du Louvre

Blogs often claim that stones were only polished en cabochon until the 16th century, and that medieval jewelers couldn't cut gemstones. But this 13th-century gold ring brooch (left) pairs table-cut purple rubies with collet-set cabochon sapphires, and may evidence early medieval gem-cutting or reuse of Roman cut stones. The silver gilt fermail, right, includes pearl beads, garnets and sapphires both cut and cabbed, and one glass paste cabochon. Both are intricately textured, with punchwork (L) and floral metalwork, probably cast and then attached (R).

Double Ring Brooch with Sapphire and Glass "Emeralds"

# M.26-1993 13th c., England V&A, London photo © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This gold double brooch is so small they think it was for a woman or child. Central sapphire cab is flanked by glass paste "emeralds" in bezel settings and metalwork featuring two animal heads.

Jewelry on the Body

Rings

Many are probably familiar with the signet ring, used for pressing into sealing wax, which could be intaglio-carved gemstone or metals. There were also a number of decorative and/or talismanic gemstone rings.

LtR:

#M.7-1929 | #M.180-1975 | #OA 11265 1250-1300, England | 1250-1300, Engl/France | 13th c., Engl/France V&A, London | V&A, London | Louvre, France photos L&C © Victoria and Albert Museum, London | R (c) Musée du Louvre

Sapphire in gold is the name of the game when it comes to rings in the thirteenth century; even the purple stones on the left are purple sapphires. (Sapphires were said to aid chastity, purity, and the effectiveness of prayer.) For larger stones, the bezel often has claws added (L); the central ring is an example of a full claw setting that modern viewers might find surprisingly tall. Naturalistic flourishes are added (C & R); these might be pre-cast then attached to the base (R).

Pendants

We equate pendants with necklaces, but their medieval applications also included wear as badges, from headpieces, and on horse decorations.

Left, bloodstone jasper cameo in silver setting # MRR 218 1100-1300, France? Louvre, Paris photo (c) Musée du Louvre / Jean Blot 1984

Right, champlevé enamel, gilt copper, and paste "emerald" (harness) pendant # 1976.169 13th c., France Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland photo CC0 Open Access

Statue Jewelry

From here, we get into the really ridiculous stuff; the previous categories could be relatively everyday (as much as ornamentation reserved exclusively for the wealthy can be an everyday thing) but the following examples are astonishing displays not necessarily for wear.

"La Couronne" de Vierge et l'Enfant d'ivoire de la Sainte-Chapelle

# OA 57 B 1250-1300, France Louvre, Paris photo (c) Musée de Louvre

This was not even a crown for a person, but rather for a painted ivory statue of the Virgin Mary, holding her infant son. (Though circlets, even set with stones, were sometimes worn as part of women's head dress.) It's incredibly ornate gold, set with pearls, garnets and rubies, sapphires, and turquoise (?) en cabochon.

Anneau de Saint-Denis

# MS 85 BIS 1200-1215, France Louvre, Paris photos (c) Musée du Louvre / Daniel Arnaudet 1990

This astonishing piece, which is ring-sized but now displayed as a cuff on an ivory hand, is made of gold and displays every possible gemstone appearance characteristic of the period. The front piece has a central sapphire and is surrounded by quartz with red backing (mimicking ruby/garnet), amethysts, pearls, and sapphires, some set on yellow backing (mimicking turquoise?). Most are en cabochon on this face, but two are faceted and two intaglio. Were this not enough, the three other 'faces' of the ring are set with gems as well, two cameos (probably sapphire and garnet?) and one amethyst intaglio set in ornate gold filigree.

[grimmborg-in-the-bog]

A Horse Themed Ring Brooch

Ring brooch T9826 from a very rich, 5th century woman's grave in Trøndelag, Norway.

This one immediately caught my eye as i was scrolling an online catalog (unimus.no). Kind of similar in the human part of the brooch, to c4640, but otherwise a very different design from other brooches from this era. Especially ring brooches.

the very old catalog text said something about it being attached to a strap through those holes at the bottom ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

there's also a pendant from about the same time that kind of matches this stylistically with a very similar horse and a part that resembles the top part of the needle.

the pendant was also compared to the style on the Horns of Gallehus, which i really recommend taking a look at they are STUNNING!!!!!

[inthiskingdomwewillendure]

Eowyn's brown coat in 4k

[camille-lachenille]

I precise it’s a piece of jewellery you can wear either daily or only for special occasions like weddings, you choose!And there isn’t a ‘none’ option because this isn’t a post for cowards.

[tiarascrowns]

Antique Diamond Parure

ANTIQUE SET IN SILVER AND GOLD WITH OLD CUT DIAMONDS composed of a tiara with a flowering branch design, central rose in old mine cut diamonds on a branch with leaves and buds in old cut diamonds, entirely dismantled to be worn, via eight additional settings, in various combinations of brooches and hair ornaments; a rigid bracelet, a pair of dangling earrings and a ring with an old cut brilliant "en suite", in an original case by Franconeri Napoli, accompanied by the original invoice dated 1883 (5)

Christie's

[mewnette]

[allaboutrings]

18k Yellow Gold Enamel Pansy Ring/Pendant/Brooch

[tiaramania]

The Consort Crown & Coronation Jewels

Queen Camilla has a lot of options for the jewelry that she will wear to her husband's coronation on May 6th. My predictions are based on the jewelry worn by Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and are pretty safe choices. Other than a crown and the ring all of this jewelry is optional and Queen Camilla may decide not to wear all of it or to wear different pieces altogether.

The jewels used in the coronation are some of the most controversial ones the British Royal Family possess. I won't get into their history or what should be done with them here because plenty of others have already covered it. They have already decided to not use the Koh-i-Noor diamond but there are a few others that go along with it that are not as well know that I think should also be set aside this time around.

Queen Mary's Crown

The last few consorts have had new crowns made for them but Queen Camilla has decided to reuse Queen Mary's Consort Crown. It was made in 1911 by Garrard using over two thousand diamonds set in silver and gold. Instead of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, Queen Camilla is using the Cullinan V diamond in the center of the crown like Queen Mary did for her son's coronation in 1937. She is also going to use only four of the eight arches bringing it more in line with the other crowns used in the ceremony. All of the alterations were already possible, they just haven't been used in this exact configuration before.

The Coronation Earrings

The focus is usually on the Koh-I-Noor diamond itself but going with it are the Coronation Earrings. Queen Victoria had them made using the pear shaped diamonds from the sides of the Koh-I-Noor armlet in 1858. It's sometimes a bit confusing because Queen Victoria did not wear them to her coronation but they got the name Queen Victoria's Coronation Earrings later after being worn by Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth II at their coronations. Hugh Roberts wrote that Queen Mary also wore them for her husband's coronation but in the pictures it looks like she is wearing her Diamond Collet Earrings made from extra diamonds taken from the Coronation Necklace not these. She could have worn different earrings for the pictures or just worn the tops of the earrings. I think Queen Mary's Diamond Collet Earrings are the better choice but another possibility is that Queen Camilla will wear an entirely different pair of earrings. She doesn't have pierced ears so it may be decided not to alter such old earrings.

The Coronation Necklace

The necklace was made in 1858 by Garrard using diamonds taken from unused garter badges and a sword hilt and can be worn with the Lahore Diamond as a pendant. Like the Coronation Earrings, Queen Victoria didn't actually wear this necklace at her coronation but it has been worn at every one since. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth II used the pendant but Queen Alexandra and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, did not. I think it's best to not use the Lahore Diamond this time because it’s from the same collection of jewels as the Koh-i-Noor. Queen Elizabeth II regularly wore the Coronation Earrings and the Coronation Necklace with the Lahore Diamond without anyone saying anything or connecting them with the Koh-i-Noor but if there is a chance to avoid controversy they should take it.

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Necklace

In addition to the Coronation Necklace I would like Queen Camilla to wear Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Necklace. It was a gift from King George VI to his wife for their coronation in 1937 and was worn by her along with the main coronation necklace. Queen Camilla has already worn this necklace and had is shortened from 40 to 31 diamonds. It may need to be lengthened a bit again in order to lay right with the other necklace.

The Buckle Bracelets

Queen Mary had these bracelets made for the 1911 coronation using two diamond and enamel buckles that belonged to King William IV attached to four rows of diamonds each. According to The Queen's Jewels by Leslie Field, one buckle features the cypher of King William IV and the other of Queen Adelaide. Queen Mary also wore them for a few portraits and Queen Elizabeth wore them for her husband's coronation in 1937 but I haven't been able to find any pictures of them being worn since then.

The Diamond Cockade Brooch

This brooch has been worn by the last three Queen Consorts. Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary both wore the full brooch but Mary turned the side sections up so it was V shaped. Queen Elizabeth only wore the central section and I think that's probably how it will be worn by Queen Camilla since the whole piece is pretty massive.

The Consort Ring

This ruby and diamond ring was made for Queen Adelaide to wear to her husband's coronation in 1831 and has been worn by every Queen Consort since. The ring is actually part of the ceremony and will be placed by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Queen Camilla's right hand.

I can’t wait to see what jewels Queen Camilla will wear! What are your predictions?

[the-jewel-catalogue]

Kindly can you please post Anne's jewelry for her wedding, when she married Tim

The Engagement Ring: An oval cabochon sapphire that is flanked by diamonds in a vintage, one-of-a-kind style.

The Brooch: No information at this time. (post to be edited if any information becomes available.) There was a story about a small sentimental brooch that Princess Anne had from Tim Laurence and the story was before their wedding as she lost it at an engagement and it was thankfully found as it was a tiny thing.

The Earrings: She wore these gold, pearl and diamond earrings from Grima. She’s had them since at least 1970 and also wore them for her daughter Zara’s wedding in 2011 and for her nephew Harry’s wedding in 2018.

[inthiskingdomwewillendure]

King Theoden's cloak, brooch & glooves in 4k

[camille-lachenille]

I tried not to repeat myself too much from the previous poll but the movies are pretty of accurate when it come to jewellery so 🤷🏻‍♀️

[ltwilliammowett]

You may remember this brooch - this is a mourning brooch remembering the loss of father and son at sea. Well, I found out that it is a set and that it comes with a ring.

On the left the brooch from the British Museum and on the right the ring that was sold at auction

The scene is the same except that the landscape is much smaller, the ship is bigger and the boat is much rougher. It is dedicated to Captain James Gilbard, 58 years old, lost at sea on 2 September 1786 and his son William Gilbard, 15 years old, lost at sea on the same day. James Gilbard of Exeter was a Mariner and Master of the ship Polly and Charlotte.

The back of the brooch is inscribed with the names of the two sons Samuel, 16 years old- he died on 22 September 1783,three years before his father and brother- and William 15 years old, the father's name is inscribed on the edge of the brooch. The ring bears the names and dates of the father and the older boy on the outside. William is noted on the back.

The Scots Magazine, Volume 48, 1786 said : On September 2nd a most alarming hurricane threw the whole island of Barbados into the utmost consternation. The Polly and Charlotte went out into the storm and Captain Gilbard and two lads perished endeavouring to board.

Whether the two were worn together or whether the brooch was possibly worn by James's wife and the ring by someone else is impossible to say. I suspect, however, that both were worn by the widow.

[tiarascrowns]

Antique Gold and Turquoise Parure

Antique Gold and Turquoise Parure Composed of a tiara, two bracelets, a pair of earrings, a brooch, a ring and a necklace, made with turquoise buttons and drops within a filigreed and dotted gold border, pendants of the necklace and earrings removable , early century. XIX, in original leather case, defects and breakages, some elements added recently

Christie's

[wanderingmausoleum]

I had the realization the other day that the brooch Godrick wears is the spitting image of the Tara Brooch, which “would have been commissioned to be worn as a fastener for the cloak of a high ranking cleric or as ceremonial insignia of high office for a High King of Ireland in Irish Early Medieval society” (x).

Since Limgrave and Stormveil seem very inspired by Ireland and Celtic art—more than Leyndell, where Godrick presumably came from—my guess is that Godrick found the brooch in Stormveil as a relic of the Storm Lord and decided to wear it because it’s gold and pretty (which might be supported by the fact he’s wearing it on the wrong shoulder, according to the wikipedia article.) [edit: it might be the correct shoulder for him after all due to the side his “main” arm is on!]

[unlicensedinvestigator]

battle against the snow queen

[gummi-stims]

Faberge egg stim board?

Avoid food, but drinks are fine

This was a fun challenge! c:

🥚-💍-🥚

👑-🥚-👑

🥚-💍-🥚