RARE EMPIRE MOURNING RING
 
RARE EMPIRE MOURNING RING
Rare 15 karat pink gold and enamel "navette" (cigar-shaped) mourning ring. Dated 1803 by inscription, this mouring ring has the actual hair of the deceased embedded underneath a neo-classical style urn and is covered by the original glass. The gold bands symbolize eternal life for the deceased. Other mourning rings often included seed pearls as symbols of tears for the deceased. The evolution of this type of ring began in the mid18th C however mourning rings were very popular throughout the 19th C. Inscription reads: Wm Stubbs Esq. Obt. 10 Jan 1803 At. 50 (age 50).

France, early 19th C.

AJRGC8102