A ring from Seefeld, c. 1470-1586A silver ring in braided wire, c. 1480-1520Engraved gold posy ring (with the inscription "I AM YOURS KS"), England, 16th century (V&A M.67-1960 )
Engraved gold wedding ring with inscriptions, England, 16th century (V&A 905-1871 )
Gold ring with an emerald , Spain, 16th centuryGold ring with an emerald , Spain, 16th centuryA gold ring with a diamond and enamel, Hungary, 16th centuryGold ring with stones in the shape of a fleur-de-lys , 16th centuryGold ring with a ruby , France, 16th centuryGold ring with a ruby , France, 16th centuryGold ring with an emerald , Italy, 16th centuryEnamelled gold ring with a sapphire , Italy, 16th centuryEngraved & enamelled gold ring with a beryl , Italy, 16th centuryGold ring with abstract punched decoration (and inside ), Sweden, 16th centuryIllustrations (this and this ; from a manuscript at the Muse du Petit-Palais) from the Garden of Health by Johann Wonnecke von Kaub, c. 1501; the text describes the medicinal properties of the stones in the rings. For more on this subject, see these links on the history of lapidaries .
Bronze decade ring, England, c. 1500-1520 (V&A 775-1871 )
Portrait of a jeweler, possibly Giovanni Pietro Crivelli by Lorenzo Lotto, c. 1509-1512Portrait of a canon by Quentin Massys, 1510sDesign for an ornament or signet ring with the arms of Lazarus Spengler by Albrecht D¨rer, 1516Portrait of Peter Gillis by Quentin Massys, 1517Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam by Quentin Massys, 1517Portrait of a grotesque old woman by Quentin Massys, 1525-1530Portrait of Sir Henry Wyatt by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1525-1540 (also here )Portrait of a man with a lute by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1526-1527 (also here )Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein, 1527Portrait of Sir Thomas Godsalve and his son John by Hans Holbein, 1528Portrait of an unknown lady by Hans Baldung Grien, 1530Portrait of an unknown lady by Lucas Cranach the Elder, c. 1530 (note rings worn under gloves, visible through slashes)Portrait of an unknown man by Lorenzo Lotto, c. 1530Portrait of Elenora, Queen of France by Joos van Cleve, c. 1530Portrait of Wilhelm Merz by Christoph Amberger, c. 1530-1535Portrait of a member of the Wedigh family by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532 (also here )Portrait of a member of the Wedigh family by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532Portrait of an unknown lady by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1532-1533Portrait of Robert Cheseman by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533Portrait of Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein, 1533Portrait of Derich Born by Hans Holbein, 1533Portrait of an unknown man by Hans Holbein, c. 1533-1536Portrait of Christina Eulenau by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1534Portrait of Isabel of Portugal by Titian, c. 1535Miniature portrait of William Roper (also here ) and a miniature portrait of his wife, Margaret More , by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1535-1536Portrait of an unknown woman by Hans Holbein, c. 1536-1540Portrait of Johannes Bugenhagen by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1538Portrait of Christina of Denmark by Hans Holbein, 1538 (also here ; see detail )Portrait of Anne of Cleves by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1539Portrait of an unknown lady , c. 1540Portrait of Mary Neville, Lady Dacre by Hans Eworth, c. 1540Miniature portrait of an unknown lady by Hans Holbein, c. 1540Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1540Portrait of an unknown man by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1540Portrait of Mrs. Pemberton by Hans Holbein, c. 1540Portrait of Melchior von Brauweiler by Jan-Stephan von Calcar, 1540 (see detail )Portrait of an unknown man by Hans Holbein, 1541Portrait of Roelof de Vos von Steenwijk by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1541Portrait of a young woman by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1541-1545Portrait of Thomas Gresham , 1544Portrait of Laura da Pola by Lorenzo Lotto, 1544Portrait of Archbishop Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke, c. 1545-1546The Jeweler by Anthonis Mor, c. 1549Portrait of an unknown lady by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1550Enamelled gold ring set with a pink sapphire, western Europe, mid-16th century (V&A 4397-1857 )
Chased and enamelled gold ring with a death's head and memento mori inscriptions, England, c. 1550-1560 (V&A 13-1888 )
Opal ring , c. 1550-1575Gold ring with red stone , northern Germany, c. 1551-1600Portrait of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal by Antonio Mor, c. 1552Gold ring with a ruby , Spain, third quarter of the 16th century Miniature portrait of Catherine de Medici by Franois Clouet, c. 1555 (V&A P.26-1954 ; also here )
Portrait of Laura Battiferi by Agnolo Bronzino, c. 1555-1560Portrait of an unknown lady , c. 1560Portrait of a woman called La Bella Nani by Paolo Caliari (Veronese), 1560sPortrait of Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk by Hans Eworth, 1562Portrait of Angelica Agliardi de Nicolinis by Giovanni Battista Moroni, c. 1565Portrait of an unknown man by Hans Eworth, 1567Portrait of Sir Henry Lee by Antonis Mor van Dashorst, 1568Portrait (probably Lady Helena Snakeborg, Marchioness of Northampton) , 1569Portrait of a tailor by Giovanni Moroni, 1570Portrait of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex , c. 1570-75Portrait of Anna of Austria by Alonso Snchez Coello, c. 1571Portrait of Elizabeth of Austria by Franois Clouet, c. 1571Engraved & enamelled gold ring with an emerald , Spain, third quarter of the 16th centuryEnamelled gold wedding ring (gimmel ring?) set with a diamond, made of three interconnecting hoops which, when brought together, show hands clasped around a heart, Germany, c. 1575 (V&A M.224-1975 )
Locket ring with minature portraits of Queen Elizabeth and her mother Anne Boleyn, c. 1575Portrait of a young woman in the Portrait-Book of Hieronymus Beck von Leopoldsdorf, c. 1575-1585Portrait of a gentleman , 1576Gold ring (with rock crystal?) , probably Spain, last quarter of the 16th century Gold ring with rock crystal , Spain, last quarter of the 16th centuryPortrait of a couple , last quarter of the 16th centuryGold engagement ring , or fede ring, made in southern Germany in the last quarter of the 16th century (see caption ); with interlocking pieces detached Enamelled gold ring set with an onyx cameo of Medusa, Germany, c. 1580 (V&A M.555-1910 )
Portrait of a gentlewoman by Scipione Pulzone, 1580Portrait of a noblewoman by Lavinia Fontana, 1580Portrait of Sir John Hawkins , 1581; notice signet ring hanging around his neckMiniature portrait of a woman by Alonso Snchez Coello, c. 1585Portrait of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester attributed to George Gower, c. 1585Miniature portrait of a young girl holding a carnation by Isaac Oliver, 1590 (also here ; see also V&A P.146-1910 )
A gold gimmel ring with enamel decorations, Hungary, c. 1590-1610Gold ring with rock crystal and green glass , Spain, late 16th centuryEngraved & enamelled gold ring with a ruby , Italy, late 16th centuryGold ring with a ruby , Germany, end of the 16th centuryGold posy ring (inscribed "let likinge last" on the inside), late 16th centuryWilliam Cecil, Lord Burghly , c. 1595Portrait of a lady by Gortzius Geldorp, 1597Portrait of the Countess Bentivoglio by Ludovico Caracci, c. 1597-1599Silver-gilt inscribed ring with jasper inlay made in the workshop of Ottavio Miseroni (Milan) in the late 16th or early 17th centuryFour wedding-rings, made in Italy and worn by Jews in Amsterdam in the late 16th or early 17th centuries: here , here , here , and here ; another Jewish wedding ring made in 16th century Italy
Gold ring with emeralds in a cross-shape , Spain, late 16th or early 17th centuryGold ring with rubies , Germany, late 16th or early 17th century (photo is unclear; is that a death's head at center?)Gold signet ring , late 16th or early 17th centuries; engraved with the initials "WW," an interlaced knot, and a beaded borderGold posy ring with enamelled decoration (inscribed "I am sent to salute" on the inside), late 16th or early 17th centuryBlack-enamelled gold ring, set with a 1st century sapphire intaglio of Medusa, western Europe, c. 1600 (V&A M.553-1910 )
Enamelled gold gimmel wedding ring, made of two intertwined & inscribed rings which, when brought together, show two hands clasped together, possibly Germany, c. 1600 (V&A 851-1871 )
Miniature portrait of a woman by Nicholas Hilliard, 1602 (V&A P.26-1975 )
Portrait of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton by John de Critz, 1603Silver-gilt signet ring with the heraldry of the Starck and Tucher families, Nuremburg, 1605Silver-gilt posy ring (inscribed "Love me only" on the inside) found in Llantilio Crossenny and dated to the 17th centuryGold fede ring (inscribed "Let virtue be thy giud" on the inside), 17th centuryGold posy ring (inscribed "Your friend unchangable" on the inside), 17th centuryEnamelled gold posy ring (inscribed "where this I give I wish to live" on the inside), 17th centuryGold posy ring (inscribed "+ FOR + EVER + YOURES" on the inside) with raised and punched exterior, 17th centuryGold posy ring (inscribed "God did decree our unity" on the inside), 17th centurySignet ring of Wolf Christoph von Bendeleben , Germany, first half of the 17th centuryGold posy ring (inscribed "Rather death then falce of faythe" on the inside) from the Tregwynt hoard, 1640s
