Dutch gold antique ring from Schoonhoven 18th Century

This time we present you a ring where, besides the country it was made, we even know the town it was made in. And to be more precise we think this ring was made in the year 1797. How do we know this? By the hallmarks. In many countries in Europe the guilds guaranteed the integrity of the concerned trades. They appointed assay-masters to control the objects made of precious metals checking if the right alloy was used. (Later the legislator adopted most of their rules in his laws, so in fact, today, we are still working according to the same principles.) It is by the hallmarks that we can "read" that the ring was made in Schoonhoven in the Netherlands (Holland) in 1797.

Despite our already extended library we weren't able to find back the name behind the goldsmiths mark. We also asked for help at the Dutch Assay Office in Gouda, but they also weren't able to track down the name of the maker.

We do not know if there any symbolism to this ring. The type of ring is quite common for Holland from the 16th till even the 19th Century. It has nine little so called "spiders" on top and the shenk is made from six twisted wires, soldered next to each other and embellished with little gold flowers and diamonds that alternate from one side to the other.

Schoonhoven in the Netherlands was, and actually still is, known for its gold- and silver industry of smaller goods. And as in common practise in all industries, if you have a good selling article, you keep making it. Such is the case with this ring. This type of ring came into fashion at least 100 years before this ring was made.

Antique jewelry object group: ring

Condition: excellent condition
  -  (more info on our condition scale)

Country of origin: Netherlands, the city of Schoonhoven

Style: Baroque - Baroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century in Europe. It is most often defined as "the dominant style of art in Europe between the Mannerist and Rococo eras, a style characterized by dynamic movement, overt emotion and self-confident rhetoric".
  -  See also: Baroque or more info on styles

Style specifics: Baroque is a style in art and decoration that developed shortly before 1600 and remained current in Europe until the emergence of the Rococo style c.1730. It was started in Italy, and spread to Germany, Austria, the Low Countries, and Spain and Portugal, with only a somewhat severely classical version being popular in France under Louis XIV. The style was a development of the Renaissance style and is characterized by lively, curved, and exuberant forms, by vigorous movement, and by rich ornament, based on classical sources, being symmetrical as distinguished from the asymmetry of the following Rococo style.

Period: ca. 1797
  -  (events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era)

Material: HIgh alloy yellow gold possible 18K gold
  -  (more info on precious metals)

Technique: Filigree; this is in fact thin golden wire twisted into refined motifs. This technique demands very high skills and precision from the maker.

Hallmarks: Offical Dutch hallmarks as they were struck in the city of Schoonhoven in the year 1797
  -  (more info on hallmarks)

Dimensions: width of top 1,65 cm (0,65 inch)

Weight: 4,10 gram (2,64 dwt)

Ring size Continental: 60 & 19¼ , Size US 9¼ , Size UK: S

Resizing: Resizing is possible but because of the age of the ring we prefer to leave it untouched. We could make an additional inner ring so the ring itself is not harmed, for this work we have to charge. We cannot guarantee to make it on every size; so please ask in advance. Return policy on this ring is not valid anymore once this work has been done.
  -  (more info on ring sizes)

Reference Nº: 16334-0055

Copyright photography: Adin, fine antique jewelry

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