Ring
Category
Jewellery
Date
1845 (circa)
Materials
Gold, ruby, enamel and moonstone.
Collection
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
NT 288800
Summary
A gold coiled serpent ring dating from around 1845. The entwined, double-headed gold serpents are enamelled in mid-blue and set with ruby eyes in raised collets. Their heads meet at an oval moonstone centre stone.
Full description
This ring, belonging to Sir John Harpur Crewe (1824-86), was a gift from his cousin, Selina Frances Stanhope Lovell (born c. 1835). It is recorded in the 1886 inventory of the family jewel case (Derbyshire Record Office, D2375/H/F/2/27).
Provenance
A moonstone ring made around 1845 and given to Sir John Harpur Crewe (1824-65) by his cousin, Selina Frances Stanhope Lovell (born c. 1835). Recorded in the 1886 inventory of the family jewel case. Thence by descent to Henry Harpur-Crewe (1921-91) and transferred with Calke Abbey and its contents to the National Trust by the Treasury in lieu of Capital Transfer Tax in 1985 with an endowment provided by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.