O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. In shape no bigger than an agate-stone We may next notice an interesting collection of Posy rings, so called from the " "poesy or rhyme engraved on them. 'Twas such a ring that Nerissa gave to Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice : A hoop of gold, a paltry ring That she did give me, whose posy was For all the world like cutler's poetry Upon a knife, "Love me, and leave me not." Among the posies on the rings before us are "A virtuous wife preserveth life," "Hearts united live contented," "Thee and I will lovers die," "If love abide, God will provide." The decade rings form another interesting class; they were common in the fifteenth century. They are so called from having ten knobs along the hoop of the ring, and were used, after the manner of rosaries, to count nine aves and one paternoster. In some cases there are only nine knobs, the bezel of the ring-in the shape of a cross or a skull-being counted in, like the "gaude" in a rosary. Also of the fifteenth century are some Italian rings with niello work :— "Niello is a term used to express a composition of silver, lead, copper, sulphur, and borax. At a certain degree of heat it fuses, and when allowed to cool becomes hard. The process by which this composition is made to impart the shadows to engravings on metal is called lavoro di niello, and derives its name from the black colour which the mixture assumes when melted. The application of this alloy to engravings on silver gives them the appearance of exquisite penand-ink drawings on a light background. This result is obtained by carefully washing and cleaning the niello until it is brought to grains like the finest millet seed, when it is spread over the metal surface, which is then heated until the grains are fused. The plate is then taken out of the furnace, and when cold it is cleaned and polished; the only portion of the niello which is allowed to remain is that embedded in the engraved design and in the lines hatched to form the background" (E. Waterton in Arch. Journal, xix. 323). The art of niello work was known in Roman times. An early specimen may be seen in the statuette of a Roman general in the Anglo-Roman collection (p. 727). The art was constantly practised in Europe till the end of the sixteenth century, and is still practised in Russia and India. Of Saxon workmanship are the rings of King Ethelwulf and Queen Ethelswith (pp. 603, 666). In the early Middle Ages, Byzantium was a centre of the art. We have already seen some niello Byzantine rings. It was, however, in Italy that niello reached its highest perfection, especially at the hands of Tommaso, commonly called Maso, di Finiguerra. Other classes of rings in the same compartment are those set with diamonds for writing on glass; sundial rings, and rings of serjeants-at-law. It was the custom for serjeants, on their appointment, to give gold rings with mottoes to their colleagues. The Stuart rings form an interesting class. Charles I. is represented by about half-a-dozen nearly contemporary portraits set in rings. An inscription is, "Preparèd be to follow me." The Jacobites executed in 1746 are recorded on a minutely-inscribed ring of which, by a strange coincidence, there was an exact duplicate already in the Museum. Another ring has the cypher of the Old Chevalier and the Papal Arms inside. A doleful ornament was the mourning ring, much in favour in this country in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries. Some are enamelled with memorial vases; others with an eye. The last compartment contains Javanese and Oriental rings and Ashanti rings. A more interesting class is that of Papal investiture rings, the episcopal ring solemnly conferred upon the newly-made bishop together with his crozier. In the time of Innocent III. (1194) this was ordered to be of pure gold mounted with a stone that was not engraved; but this rule was not strictly kept. In many cases an antique gem was mounted in the bishop's ring, an inscription being sometimes added to Christianise the pagan device. Owing to the custom of burying the episcopal ring in the bishop's coffin many fine examples still exist. The ring was worn over the bishop's gloves, usually on the forefinger of the right hand; hence the large size of the hoop. Some Jewish betrothal rings are also interesting. "Fine examples of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries exist. In the place of the bezel is a model, minutely worked in gold, of a building with high-gabled roofs, and frequently movable weathercocks on the apex. This is a conventional representation of the temple at Jerusalem." On one of our rings is a representation of the seven-branched candlestick. JEWELLERY The Franks Bequest of personal ornaments includes examples of the jewellery of nearly all ages and countries, and serves as a supplement to the historical collection already described. On one side of the corridor are cases containing Greek, Græco-Roman, Roman, and Byzantine specimens. "The transfer of the seat of empire to Byzantium marked," says Castellani, "a new phase in the history of jewellery. It became quickly grafted on the Arab art, and by means of this new element acquired quite a different style from that which it had derived from the artists of antiquity. Enamels, precious stones, pearls, and coarse chasings, all mounted together with an exuberance of barbaric luxury, constitute the characteristic traits of that Byzantine school which, whilst it preserved in the general disposition of its ornamentation the square forms of Greek art, served so well for the transition between the ancient and modern art at the period of the Renaissance" (Archæological Journal, 1861, p. 365). 66 Among the Classical jewellery may be mentioned two shoulder ornaments of gold from the Fould collection, with Etruscan designs in granular work; a large series of jewellery, ear-rings, etc., from Crete; two small gold bells from the treasure of Tarsus in Cilicia, with the labours of Hercules ; and a number of articles of Roman date found in Egypt" (Brit. Mus. Report, 1898, p. 72). Of Merovingian and Anglo-Saxon jewellery "the characteristics are thin plates of gold, decorated with thin slabs of garnet, set in walls of gold, soldered vertically like the lines of Cloisonné enamel, with the addition of very decorative details of filigree work, beading, and twisted gold." On the other side of the corridor is a collection of English and foreign jewellery of later centuries. We may call special attention to some enamelled portraits of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; a curious shell-portrait of William III. and Mary in a locket. In the next compartment are two enormous Hungarian brooches; some silver and enamelled book-covers; and some Italian translucent enamels. The third compartment contains some beautiful examples of the best Italian work. Notice especially a very fine belt with enamelled rosettes, Venetian work of the fifteenth century; also some fine samples of Italian niello in crucifixes and reliquaries. We now re-enter the Room of Gold Ornaments in order to inspect the collection of engraved gems, etc., which forms the subject of the next chapter. CHAPTER XXVI ENGRAVED GEMS In tenui labor, at tenuis non gloria si quem WHAT Virgil says of the humbler themes of the poet is true also of the little works of art which we have next to examine (in the case opposite the door). Engraved gems are for the most part small in scale; the work upon them is minute; it is not always easily seen; its motives are slight. But when the conditions are propitious and the engraver is well inspired, a gem is among the most precious of artistic treasures. The conditions must be favourable; that is to say, the stones on which the artist works must be in themselves beautiful and suitable. This is the first thing that gives value to an engraved gem. If the reader will take a general glance at the gems exhibited in the cases opposite the door, he will at once be struck by the beauty of the translucent stones. These gems are intaglios-so called from the Italian intagliare, "to cut in” -in which the design is sunk beneath the surface; from them is obtained an impression. They are in fact seals, and beside each intaglio is exhibited a plaster-cast, showing the design as it appears in relief. For intaglios stones of a single colour are generally chosen, such as the amethyst, hyacinth, beryl, and sard. Of these stones none is more beautiful for the purpose of the engraved gem than the beryl and the sard.1 Antique 1 "It is worth noticing that some stones, such as the amethyst and the garnet, which often look poor and tawdry when faceted, have great decorative beauty when cut in the older fashion. The modern system is applied with great want of taste on the part of jewellers to many stones, which are quite spoilt by it. In Oriental countries the old method of shaping gems still survives, and modern Indian jewellery of very great beauty and decorative effect is often made with gems which, in the hands of a European jeweller, would be almost valueless" (Middleton's Ancient Gems, p. 39). |