High carat gold fede ring. Probably English, late 16th / early 17th century

A high carat gold fede ring.

Probably English, late 16th / early 17th century.

Ring size T UK / 9.5 US.

Weighs 3.7 grams.

The two clasping hands with elaborate cuffs clutch a heart.

This ring features the ancient fede motif of two hands clasped together, however in their grasp is a heart. These symbols represented love and fidelity. The ring was likely a token of love symbolising everlasting devotion, or possibly a betrothal ring.

The word Fede takes its name from the Italian word for faith or trust with the two clasped hands symbolising an attachment that usually led to marriage. The motif of the two clasped hands was already in use in ancient Rome, it was a symbol of pledging of vows, which derives from the Roman ‘dextarum iunctio’ (right hand joined). Fede rings remained popular throughout Europe until well into the 19th century with their peak of manufacture during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.