© Epping Forest District Museum
Medieval iconographic finger-ring
Artist: English
Location: Epping Forest District Museum
Date: late 15th-early 16th Century
Materials: gold
Dimensions: diameter: 2.2cm
Grant:
Amount Paid: £1,000 (Total: £2,500)
Vendor: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Review number: 5812 (2006)
Provenance:
Discovered by a metal detector user near Abridge, Essex in 2004 and declared Treasure in 2005.
Description:
This gold finger-ring is decorated with religious imagery and is an important survival of the Medieval prayer ring, used as a focus for devotion. Its five integrally cast bezels are each engraved with symbols of the Passion of Christ: the cross with a scourge and palm frond; the crown of thorns with a pierced heart; a column with a lance and a sponge on a staff; pliers with a hammer; and three dice (symbolising the division of Christ's robe). It is a valuable record of the proliferation of Passion imagery and prayer in daily life during the late Middle Ages prior to the Reformation and its discovery in the Epping Forest District is particularly significant in the context of Waltham Abbey's importance as a religious centre during this period.
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