Earrings Egypt AD 100-200 gold, pearls Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring Greece 400-300 BC engraved silver with gold plug Nike fastening her sandal Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Earring Greece 3rd-1st century BC gold, garnet, pearl Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Earring Greece 2nd century BC gold, ivory, pearls, emeralds, garnets Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Pendant Egypt rock-crystal fish carved AD 900-1000 silver-gilt mount added in Paris ca. 1300 Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
"The crystal is Islamic (Fatimid period), carved in the form of a fish with a fin at the top, decorated with diaper pattern, and two carved fins below. The body ends in a stylized tail with a ribbed ring around. A narrow carved collar figures the gills at the neck, and a deep tube is pierced down the center. The head was cut off when the fish was mounted as a pendant in Western Europe. The mounts consist of a molded rim of silver gilt, decorated with a pattern of leaves reserved in the metal on a nielloed ground. The mouth is engraved with an insrciption in Lombardic letters AVE MARIA GRACIA PL[E]NA, these letters nielloed. The crystal is held by four moulded spurs descending from the rim. To the left and right spurs, which are shorter, are attached moulded suspension rings closed by a screw stopper to whose knob is attached a suspension loop. The base, upper ends of the body, and the ends of the fins are chipped. It is possible that the end of the tail was ground down to its present shape when the fish was mounted as a pendant."
– curator's notes from the Victoria & Albert Museum
Ring Western Europe ca. 1725-75 antique Roman agate-cameo set in gold Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Freemason's Ring England ca. 1750-55 emeralds set in gold, diamonds set in silver Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring of the Order of the Garter England ca. 1730-70 enameled-gold, diamonds, portrait under rock-crystal Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring Germany ca. 1350-1400 silver and silver-gilt, engraved Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring Italy ca. 1660 enameled-gold, rock-crystal Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring England 1706 enameled-gold, diamonds Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring Spain ca. 1575-1650 gold, rock-crystals, mirrored-glass Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Ring Spain ca. 1700-1750 gold, diamonds with radiating gadroons Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
Amulet Spain 19th century dolphin-bone in silver mount Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
"The use of a fish's ear bone as an amulet dates back to Roman times. It was believed to be especially efficacious against eye and stomach problems. In France they were called 'colic stones' . . .Many people believed that the supernatural powers embodied in an amulet could promote fertility and good health and offer protection against malign forces or the 'evil eye'. Although the Catholic Church was opposed to the pagan nature of many amulets, it was powerless to prevent their use."
– curator's notes from the Victoria & Albert Museum