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- Title
London ring makers’ marks from the seventeenth century.
- Authors
MITCHELL, DAVID; FORSYTH, HAZEL
- Abstract
This paper is based upon the searches carried out in London by the Wardens of the Goldsmiths’ Company during the seventeenth century. Rings that were thought to be below the Gold Standard of 22 carats were taken to Goldsmiths’ Hall to be assayed. A description of the rings and the subsequent result of the assay were entered into the Court Books by the Clerk. Some of these descriptions include a note and sometimes a drawing of the maker’s mark. Other entries in the Court Books give the names and details of the careers of certain ringmakers which are entered in the Mitchell Merry Database at Goldsmiths’ Hall. By comparing these records with the marks given for particular rings, it is possible to suggest which ringmaker used the mark. Short biographies are given of possible or probable owners of these marks. An illustrated glossary of seventeenth century terms for the various ring types is provided. These records give an indication of the lives of seventeenth century ringmakers and how they coped with the calamities of the century: war, plague and fire.
- Subjects
LONDON (England); JEWELERS; GOLDSMITHS' Co.; LIVERY Companies of London; RINGS (Jewelry)
- Publication
Jewellery Studies, 2023, Issue 2, p3
- ISSN
0268-2087
- Publication type
Article