Lot 71
71
TWO GOLD MOURNING RINGS AND A PAIR OF GOLD BUTTONS
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF ERIC MARTIN WUNSCH
TWO GOLD MOURNING RINGS AND A PAIR OF GOLD BUTTONS

THE RINGS MARK OF JACOB HURD, BOSTON, CIRCA 1745 AND MYER MYERS, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1764; THE BUTTONS, CIRCA 1728

Details
TWO GOLD MOURNING RINGS AND A PAIR OF GOLD BUTTONS
The rings mark of Jacob Hurd, Boston, circa 1745 and Myer Myers, New York, circa 1764; the buttons, circa 1728
The Hurd ring of simple band form, the inside engraved: ..ayer ob:10 Apr: 1745 AEt: 60; the Myers ring of shaped band form, the exterior with traces of white enamel, inscribed ROBERT.HT MORRIS. ESQ. OB:27 JAN.1764 AE51; each marked on interior, the linked gold buttons circular, engraved with a flower head on the front, marked on reverse ?B, the buttons with framed note citing line of descent
The rings ¾ in. (7.5 cm.) diameter; the buttons 5/8 in. (6 cm.) long (4)
Provenance
The Myers Ring: Robert Hunter Morris (1713-64)
The Hurd ring: Sotheby's, New York, 30-31 January 1986, lot 408A
The buttons: Madame Mercy Otis, to her grand daughter, in 1728, thence to her grand daughter Maria (Mercy) Otis Warner in 1801
Literature
The Myers ring: Yale University Art Gallery, Myer Myers: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York, 2001, no. 48
Exhibited
The Myers ring: David Barquist, Myer Myers: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York, 2001, illus. no. 48, pp. 134-36

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Lot Essay

The 18th century practice of giving mourning rings to relatives and friends of the deceased was common to both the Christian and Jewish faiths. The Myers ring has traces of white enamel, a marker for an unmarried person or child, and indeed Robert Morris never married. He was the Chief Justice of New Jersey and served as Governor of Pennsylvania for two years.

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