PREVIEW: JEWELLERY, SILVER & OBJECTS OF VERTU: 28 NOVEMBER

A late 10th century Anglo-Saxon gold and enamel ring, found by a metal detectorist in Sussex in 2021, makes for a striking highlight in this auction.

The raised circular bezel is divided by six cloisonné cells forming a central expanding cross of green glass. The angles of the cross are spaced by four triangular cells of blue glass within a thin blue glass border, mounted within an outer raised collar of twisted rope design, and set with a band of granulated beads below.

 

The hoop of the ring is formed by a concave rectangular strip broadening at the shoulders, with S-shaped filigree scrolls and a kidney-shaped scroll to the base with beaded trefoils.

The lucky detectorist discovered the ring near Greatham in West Sussex in 2021. From the Saxon era, Greatham was an agricultural community and named Terra Regis (Land of the King), bordering the Royal hunting forest of Woolmer and the river Arun. In the Domesday book of 1086, the village was recorded as Gretham, with the manor house owned by Queen Edith, the widow of Edward the Confessor and regarded as the richest woman in England. She was the daughter of Earl Godwine of Wessex, who was the father of Harold II, whilst her grandfather Wulfnoth Cild was a thegn of Sussex, and descended from King Aethelred I of Wessex.

The ring is missing a small portion of the hoop which had been squashed from behind (now reshaped). Four of the granulated beads surrounding the bezel are missing together with a tiny section of glass. Otherwise, the filigree decoration and enamel are in good condition which suggests the ring was hardly worn before being buried. Only a handful of rings exist from this period.

Disclaimed as Treasure under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, it is offered here with an estimate of £8,000-12,000.

Other notable highlights in the sale include a diamond bracelet, with a frontispiece centred with a pear-cut diamond, weighing 3.90 carats. With a total diamond weight (excluding the principal pear-cut diamond) of approximately 40-45 carats, and 18.5cm long, the estimate is £40,000-60,000.