Noonans Mayfair had several pieces of jewellery with historical history for sale at the «Jewellery, Watches, and Objects of Vertu» auction, held in London.
Each was discovered by a man with a metal detector who was treasure hunting in different locations in England. But not all of them found buyers at auction.
One of the highlights of the sale was a 300-year-old ring with a connection to a judge in a witch trial. The ring was discovered by Steve Pulley in January 2020.
The piece turned out to be one of the many commemorative rings commissioned after Sir Richard Rainsford's death. A judge who presided over some of the last witch trials held in England.
The gold wreath has a skull and crossbones on the outside. Rainsford's initials and date of death are inscribed on the inside of the ring.
The inscription reads: «Richard Rainsford, Mile Nuper Cap Just De Banco Regis Obitus 17 Feb 80 Æt 76,». Which translates to “Richard Rainsford, Knight, lately Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench, Died 17th February 1680 aged 76”.
The ring was expected to sell for 6,000 to 8,000 pounds ($7,600 to $10,100), but no one bought it.
However, two pieces of medieval jewellery for sale found buyers, including a bishop's sapphire ring.
Metal detectorist Mark Sell found the ring in November 2019. It is believed to date from the late 12th to early 13th century.
«This form of medieval ring, is with a main stone on a cabochon, usually sapphire. It is also surrounded by smaller satellite stones in a bezel setting (garnets or rubies and emeralds). It can be safely dated to the late 12th or early 13th century and is associated with the diocese,» said Laura Smith, jewellery specialist at Noonans.
The ring features as its central stone a hexagonal sapphire with a cabochon on a closed support. It is further surrounded by four smaller emeralds and cabochon garnets with a flat, narrow bezel.
It was sold for 19,000 pounds ($24,500). Slightly above the pre-sale estimate of £15,000 to £18,000 ($19,400 to $23,300).
Also sold at the Noonans auction was a gold ring dating from the 13th to the 14th century. It was discovered by metal detectorist Richard Girling in March 2024.
«This is one of my best artifact finds. I've found coins in the past and it's nice to have something in your hand that hasn't been touched for hundreds of years and imagine what people were like because it was there,» Girling said.
Smith, a jewelry specialist at Noonans, shared the story of the ring with the poseur.
«Romance and jewellery have always been closely intertwined and during the medieval period it became popular to write a short love message or «posy» on a gold ring to give to your beloved,» he said.
«The intimacy is enhanced by the fact that the message is worn directly on the skin and is really just for the user to see.».
On the outside of this ring, in a mixture of Latin and Lombard letters, there is an inscription that reads: «+IO.VVS.AIM.PAR.FEI», which translates from medieval French as ”I love you faithfully” or ”I love you faithfully”.
The ring sold for 11,000 pounds ($14,200), above the estimate that had been pre-sold for 6,000 to 8,000 pounds ($7,700 to $10,300).
Source: nationaljeweler.com
