The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Gold Ring [ARK00053]
Attached People: Collector (major) - Bargrave, John (1610-1680)Location(s): Current location at - Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives (Library and/or Archive) -> Canterbury Cathedral (Institution)
Annotation:[Canterbury Catalog: Almandine garnet ring with incised bust of Graecian head. Bargrave wrote a long entry in his catalogue "Item. A gold ring, with the cutt of an ancient Graecian head on a garnet stone set in it. Anno 1650, being the year of the jubilee, I had the honour to conduct the Earl of Chesterfield, Philip Lord Stanhop, into Italy; and at Rome he presented me with this stone, telling me that it was sold him not only for a Graecian head, but for Aristotle's. I sett it in gold at Rome, as the jeweller advised me, in that transparent posture as it now hath, that so, the stone being pelluced transparent/tanslucent], the head is much the plainer to be seen both ways. The side next to the finger will soil, and must sometimes be cleaned. The cutt is certainly a very very ancient 'intaglia' (as they used to call such cutts at Rome), melting away the 'g' in the pronounciatiion, and pronouncing it almost with a 'll- intallia'."] (1650)