What's this on my grandfather's ring?

July 25, 2008 1:57 PM

Is there any significance or meaning to the bust / sculpture on this ring?

I got the ring in the contents of a safe-deposit-box that belonged to my grandfather, along with a bunch of old pocket watches and some Masonic jewelry (watch fob, etc). It's clearly a man's ring, as it fits my big fingers.

It looks like some sort of knight as far as I can tell (sorry for the picture; I did the best I could).

Any ideas what the carving on it might be?

posted by mrbill to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

I don't know about any masonic symbolism, but it looks like a standard cameo to me. That kind of carved ebony, ivory, or whatever bust has been common in jewelry since Roman times.
posted by cmoj at 2:48 PM on July 25, 2008

Response by poster: I don't think there's any kind of Masonic symbolism, but I'm wondering if the cameo is of anybody special (a saint, perhaps?).
posted by mrbill at 4:05 PM on July 25, 2008

you took the picture with the camera too close to the ring - if you take a picture from a bit further away it should be in better focus. also, if your camera has a "macro" setting, and you didn't use it, try selecting that.
posted by not sure this is a good idea at 6:46 PM on July 25, 2008

Response by poster: I did try the macro setting, and this was the best of about 20 pictures I took. If I have time tonight I'll try to get a better shot.
posted by mrbill at 7:40 PM on July 25, 2008

Response by poster: I've replaced the photo with a much better one, and noted that I should not try to combine zoom AND macro on my camera at the same time.
posted by mrbill at 7:47 PM on July 25, 2008

Best answer: Ah, much better photo. According to this ebay seller, "the Roman soldier double cameo was a popular choice in the 1930's". There are similar cameos here and here.
posted by lunaazul at 9:20 PM on July 25, 2008

My first thought was that it might be Constantine, why one would make a Constantine ring is curious though, so I concur on the roman soldier idea. Sometimes in fashion arbitrary figures and ideas become popular and all sorts of things are made with these images on them.
posted by hibery at 9:36 AM on July 26, 2008

Response by poster: lunaazul - thanks! That's definitely what it is, and the time frame matches up.
posted by mrbill at 10:30 AM on July 26, 2008