PREVIEW: JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & OBJECTS OF VERTU: 16 SEPTEMBER

An early 17th century gold seal ring, bearing the arms of the Bozon (Bozoun or Bosum) family, is one of several notable detectorist finds in this auction.

This ring was discovered in Thornham, Norfolk, in October 2022 and is recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. Disclaimed as Treasure, it has been consigned here with an estimate of £3,000-4,000.

The ring’s oval bezel bears a shield-shaped coat of arms blazoned as three birdbolts with erect points in base and annulet in chief. A birdbolt was a specific type of arrow with a blunt or broadened head designed for hunting birds without causing excessive damage or piercing to the bird. 


The arms may be a pun on the family name – boujons (or besons and bosons) were ‘great arrows’, meaning arrows with a great or broad head. The arms are recorded in the Parliamentary Roll, circa 1312 and the Surrey Roll of Arms, circa 1395.

Several branches of the family survive, but one was prominent in Whissonsett, Norfolk, about 20 miles from the find site, from the early 14th century. These estates were sold in 1658 and the family then moved to North and South Creake, 10 miles from the find spot.

The annulet on the arms is most probably a cadency mark for a fifth son. According to a pedigree of the family produced by G.A. Carthew (1877), the Whissonsett Bozons in the 17th century comprised Robert Bozonne and his first wife Elizabeth Kevill, who had four sons; records do not show details of their son’s offspring. However, Robert also had a second wife, Winefred Knightly, and this union produced another son, John Bozoun, of Horningtoft, Norfolk, and he would have been the fifth son of Robert. Horningtoft lies approximately 4 miles from Whissonsett.

Thanks are due to Beacon Genealogical and Heraldic Research for their kind assistance in exploring the provenance of the ring.

A Medieval sapphire ring, dating to the 14th century, forms another highlight. Discovered near King’s Lynn in 2024, its trapezoid bezel is inset with a similarly shaped cabochon sapphire, mounted to stepped shoulders and a narrow band with stamped pellet decoration in lozenge pattern. The estimate is £2,600-3,000.

Another detectorist find is a late 17th / early 18th century gold mourning ring, the band decorated with black enamel foliate detail, the bezel composed of a hexagonal faceted foiled-back rock crystal in a pinched collet setting, bearing maker’s mark ‘CD’. This ring was found in the early 1990s, in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire. It is offered here at £1,000-1,500.

Another circa 14th century gold ring, found near King’s Lynn, Norfolk, appears here with a vacant setting between small, stepped shoulders. It is guided at £500-700.