Article
12 March 2024
A silver hawking ring (vervel) which measured only 10mm in diameter that hung from a tether attached to a hawk and was formerly owned by King Charles I, sold for a hammer price of £7,000 – double its pre-sale estimate of £2,000-3,000 in a sale of Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu at Noonans Mayfair today (Tuesday, March 12, 2024).
Found in a spoil heap by the side of the river Thames, it was discovered in the late 1980s by Roy Davis, a former McAlpine manager and a father of 15, who is now aged 82. He was searching with his Compass 77B metal detector on a Saturday morning on some Billingsgate spoil heaps from the river Thames when he made the discovery. He plans to share the proceeds of the sale between his children.
As Roy explained before the sale: “The tiny ring was heavily encrusted when found and I thought nothing of it, so I put it aside. Going through some old finds recently I decided to clean the ring and saw it was inscribed with a royal coat of arms and the legend Charles King.”
Following the sale, he said: “I am very pleased; it was an excellent result, and I was amazed how much international interest it attracted. Before the sale, I had calls about it from all over the world!"
As Nigel Mills, Artefact and Coin expert at Noonans added: “Our current King Charles III became an avid polo player from the age of 15, but in the 16th and 17th centuries it was falconry that was keenly followed by Royalty and the nobility. Charles I would have owned a number of trained birds of prey used for hunting small game such as rabbits, and it is likely he would have kept some of his hawks at the Tower of London.”
He continued: “This was a very exciting find with only one other known example in the British Museum, as well as other vervels that belonged to Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James I.”
Following the sale, he said: “Even though it was so small the Royal connection gave it historical significance and justified it selling for more than double the estimate.”
Share This Page