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Vintage rings
The well-known antique dealer S.J. Phillips of London has set up an exhibition-market of 121 historical rings at its headquarters in the Mayfair district of London to celebrate 155 years of business. The rings range from ancient Greece to the 18th century and the exhibition falls within the same period of the Frieze Art Fair of London, popular among art collectors, who have had the opportunity to admire the entire ring collection, selected according to the quality and variety of design, craftsmanship and particular function. Known as the “Jonest Collection of Rings” it is one of the most important collections of ancient
rings to have appeared on the market in recent years. According to Nicolas Norton, great-grandson of the founder of the company, Solomon Joel Phillips, the rings were collected by father and son in Europe, the majority more than 40 years ago, but recently a 17th century ring was added, with a candelabra motif in chalcedony, found in 2021 in the English county of Derbyshire, thanks to a metal detector. The Jonest collection includes every category of ring, including wedding, posy, seal, amulet, memento mori, devotional, commemorative and decorative. The rings are a historical document of Western civilization, from politics and religion to art, to architecture and commerce, as well as their symbolic function of love, power and loyalty. The most significant examples of the collection include the first examples of Greek-Roman wedding rings, ornamental objects which evoke the splendour of Byzantium, works of Merovingian jewellery and Medieval and Renaissance rings, which anticipate the development of seals and use of precious stones, as well as miniature portraits of the 18th century, of royal provenance. The collection also highlights the role of goldsmiths, carvers and gem setters over the centuries. Many pieces illustrate the ancient art of engraving on hard stones, such as onyx, sardonyx, cornelian, jasper and chalcedony. The engravings were used in relief, like in cameos or under the surface as carvings to seal. For example, a Roman ring in gold of the first century is set with a large cameo in white agate on brown background, depicting a portrait of the half-length of a Maenad. “The extraordinary ability of the engraver is revealed by the masterful rendering of the drape of the Maenad’s garment and the details of her face and hair”, declared the same S.J. Phillips. Different Byzantian rings of the collection are the fruit of a great artisan skill: miniature buildings, topped by domes or pyramids and embellished with pearls and, occasionally, by precious stones. A rare example of the use of gems in Byzantian jewellery can be found in a large cluster ring of flowers in gold, garnet and pearls, of the 6th or 7th century.