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Details
A late 17th century gold, portrait miniature mourning ring for Charles I
The oval bezel with painted enamel portrait of Charles I under rock crystal, wearing plain shirt and garter sash, the mount engraved in black enamel foliate decoration, the inside of the hoop engraved with the legend Prepared be to follow me, with crown between the initials 'C R', circa 1680
The oval bezel with painted enamel portrait of Charles I under rock crystal, wearing plain shirt and garter sash, the mount engraved in black enamel foliate decoration, the inside of the hoop engraved with the legend Prepared be to follow me, with crown between the initials 'C R', circa 1680
Provenance
Private collection, Germany; acquired 1960-1981, and thence by descent to the present owner.
Literature
Cf. M.Dalton, op.cit. P.195-197 nos. 1359-1365, also C.Oman, op.cit, pls 79,80, also D.Scarisbrick op.cit p.102-103, also Christie's sale, Rings from Antiquity to the Present Day, 5th October 1988, lot 369.
Further details
In the years preceding the English Civil War, rings, lockets and slides set with portrait miniatures of King Charles I were distributed by Henrietta Maria as compensation for those who lent money to the Royalist cause. After the execution of the King on 30th January 1649, these political tokens gained further significance for his supporters and became symbols for the Jacobite cause as both an expression of sorrow and hopes for the restoration of the monarchy under the future King Charles II. The motto 'Prepared be to follow me' is often encountered on these memorial pieces. Later portrait rings of Charles I are often depicted with his eyes raised to the heavens.