Post-Medieval — Late 16th-early 17th century
Posy ring
A simple finger ring or posy-ring of hoop-style, fashioned from brass and inscribed internally with the legend: 'Live in Love'.Posies (simple rhymes) or mottoes were applied to rings from the early medieval to nineteenth centuries. They were often exchanged as love tokens but could also affirm religious devotion or social allegiance. Many of the posies, commonly inscribed inside the hoop, conveyed a wealth of meaning that required sophisticated decoding and understanding. The posie 'live in love' was quite a common motto on rings, and the phrase is sometimes followed by the word' together'. Other variants include 'love and live happy' or 'live in love & fear the Lord'. Most of these mottoes occur on rings dating from the late 16th - early 18th centuries.
- Category:
- Post-Medieval
- Object ID:
- A2690
- Object name:
- Posy ring
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- late 16th-early 17th century
- Material:
copper alloy, brass
- Measurements/duration:
- DM 21 mm, W 3 mm (overall)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 60%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.