a buttery yellow gold posy ring, the exterior decorated with two rows of beading flanking a band of square motifs with opaque black enamel, the interior engraved in capital script ‘ + BE TRV IN HART’ (BE TRUE IN HEART) and infilled with black enamel.
Internal diameter: 18mm.
Weight 3.4 grams.
Complete jewels from Tudor England are extremely rare.
The message of love it expressed five hundred years ago resonates as much now as then. Love is a reassuring constant in the human experience.
Provenance
This ring was discovered by a metal detectorist on cultivated land in Hawnby, North Yorkshire in 2020. It is recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) as YORYM-438136 and was deemed treasure under the Treasure Act 1996. It was examined under Treasure Case 2020T830 and subsequently returned to the finder.
Wartski acquired the ring directly from the finder.
Hawnby, North Yorkshire
Posy rings derive their name from the word “posy” or “Poesy” – a derivative of poetry meaning short rhyme. The rings were popular from the late medieval period onwards and were used to communicate secret messages of love between the giver and recipient. The wearing of words against the skin was believed to increase their poignancy.