Gold inscribed mourning ring

This 17th century mourning ring is inscribed ‘Allice : Wagstaffe : ob : 5 : Nov : 81’ with the maker’s mark ‘IC’ above a pellet in a shield. It is also decorated with a single carved skull, a common motif on such rings, but one which is not yet represented within the museum's collections. The acquisition of this ring adds to the Museum’s small, but significant collection of items of personal ornament from the Tudor and Stuart period, allowing them to present different aspects of the lives of the people of the time, such as the commemoration of death and other ‘rites of passage’.