English: A solid gold finger ring with unidentified turquoise / aquamarine stone of unknown , but probable modern, date (1800-1970). The hoop of the finger ring is sub-circular (slightly oval) in plan and D shaped in cross section. It is regular in both width and thickness; at the shoulder of the ring both sides flare to form a much thickened bezel with a hollowed centre which holds a large oval blue - turquoise or aquamarine - stone. The stone is held by eight claws spaced irregularly; the claws extend and grip the central stone. The edges of the bezel are decorated with irregular 'U' shaped scallops, which are positioned between the claws. These scallops give the impression that the claws lie over a continuous gold band. The stone itself is polished and oval in shape; it is cracked across its width and measures: length13.1mm by 7.4mm wide. At the point of the break it is possible there are the remains of carved decoration. . The ring is plain, with only the scallop design as decoration. There is no decoration on the inner surface or the back of the hoop. The ring is a rich yellow gold colour and is well preserved with moderate areas of scratching from abrasion in the soil. The inner surface is much polished, probably with wear, and there is no evidence of makers' marks.

The hoop of the ring in plan measures 21.7mm length, 20.6mm width; it is minimum of 3.8mm and maximum of 8.8mm high and is a minimum of 1.3mm and maximum 4.6mm thick. The internal diameter of the ring is 16.5mm. The ring weighs 9.0 grams.

The ring has been examined by curators at the BritishMuseum; however an exact date could not be reached because of the stylistic simplicity of the ring and its lack of makers' marks. No similar examples are housed within the British Museums European collections, and so it could possibly have originated from further afield.

Sarah Ritchie,

PAS Workplacement

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Curators Report

2011-T262

Date: possibly Modern

Description: Solid gold finger-ring with blue stone setting, eight claws encompass the stone setting. There are no parallels in the collections of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, and this ring may well be non-European, possibly from Middle East or Asia.

Discussion: This ring has also been examined by Ralph Jackson, Curator of Romano-British Collections and Beverley Nenk, Curator of Late Medieval Europe.

Weight: 8.97g

There is not enough evidence to date this ring to pre-1711and as such falls outside the provisions of the Treasure Act 1996. As we have no evidence that this find was discovered post-1997 we must actually evaluate it under Treasure Trove laws. Under Treasure Trove evidence would have to point to the object having been deliberately hidden with the intention of recovery. The finger-ring is most likely to be a casual loss and therefore does not constitute treasure.

Judy Rudoe

Curator of Renaissance & Later Collections

Department of Prehistory & Europe

The British Museum