Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-22
FOR FAIR FINGERS
Rings Have Not Always Been Used
Only for Ornament.
REGARDED As OF GREAT IMPORTANCE
In Earlier Days Considered as a
Symbol Of Authority,
MADE OF MANY MATERIALS

! Frm the s.. Louis Globe Democrat
| The woman who carelessIy toys with the
gemmed bands upon her finger. today. de-
lighting only in the glitter of the face;ed
stones or the fairness their color impar,s
to her hands. is. perhaps totally ignorant of
| the important place rings have held In small
| and great affairs from time to time since
/ civilization began.
| And he scaled II with his seal' does not
| now mean the impression made with a ne
| culiar and personal ring-something not
| transferable. held sacred and individual
| but mechanical die worked with a lever.
| and secondary to many considerations in
| Importance. Not so were the seal rings of
bygone ages. The signet of the king the
| pope or any great dignitary was guarded
| carefully, its impression carrying all the
weight of personal command, and regarded
| as quite infallible. The Use OF signet rings
as symbols Of great respect and authority
is mentioned in several parts of the Scrip-
! lures, from which II would seem that they
were then common among persons of rank.
In Genesis we find that Joseph had con-
| ferred upon him the royal sgnet as an in
| sigma OF authority. Thus. Ahasuerus trans
| ferred his authority to Hannah The ring
was also used as a pledge for the PERFORM
ahce OF promise. Darius sealed with his
|
| Jezebel. to destroy Naboth made use of
| the ring of Ahab. King of the Israelites.
| her husband, TO seal the counterfeit letters
! ordering the death of that unfortunate man.
| Inc earliest material Of which rings
| were made was pure gold, the metal usu-
| ally very thin. The Israelitish people wore
not Only rings on their fingers. hut also in
| thelr hostrils and ears. Apropos of this
custom, reaching down to a later date, Mr.
l-aHard, IN 'Nineveh aid Its Remains"
describes the wife of an Arab sheikh whom
nS
| prod.gfous gold ring, set with Jewels Of
| such ample dimensions that Il covered her
| mouth. and she was obliged to remove it
when she ate
Not All to Re Worn.
We are not to assume, however, that all
| ancient seals, being signets, were rings
| intended to be worn On the hand. zone OF
| the largest Egyptian signets 1 have seem"
| remarks Sir ]. G. Wilkinson, was in the
possession of French gentleman Of Cairo.
1t contained f20 G10O worth of gold. 1t
consisted of a massive ring, half an inch
| in its largest diameter, bearing an oblong
| plilth, on which the devices were engraved
On one side was the name of a king, the
| successor of Amureph III, who lived about
400 years before Christ; on the other a
| lion, with the legend Lord of Strength
referring to the monarch; on one side a
| scorpion, and on the other a crocodile. This
| ring passed into the Waterton Dactyliothe-
| ca, and is now the property of the South
kensington Museum.
Rings Of inferior metal. engraved with
the kings name, may probably have been
| worn by officials of the court.
| In Rome every freedman had the right TO
use the iron ring, but the use of a gold
| ring was restricted for many years TO per-
sons of dignity, or those whose wealth ex-
| ceeded certain sums
In the course of time 1t became CUSTOM
] airy for all the senator's, chief magistrates
| and the equities to wear gold seal ring
| This practice, which was subsequently
| termed the jus annuh urei or the jus an
| nulOrum. remained for several centuries at
| Rome their exclusive privilege, while others
| continued to wear the iron ring.
| The keeping of the imperial ring tcura
| annulD was confided to a state keeper, as
| the great seal Of England is placed In Gus
| tody of the lord chancellor.
With the increasing love Of luxury and
show the Greeks, as well as the Romans,
| covered their fingers with rings, and some
wore different sizes for summer and win
| ter immoderate both in number and size.
Demosth wore many rings, and he was
| stignatized as unbecomlngly vain for doing
| SO in the troubled times of the state.
Keys as Finger Ornaments.
In many of the Roman keys that have
| been discovered the ring was actually worn
| on the finger The shank disappears, and
| the wards were at right angles to the ring
| or In the direction of the length OF the
| finger.
to propitiate royal favors. Thus. toward
| the end of the tenth century. Beorhtric,
wealthy noble in Kent. left in his viii
ring worth thirty mancuses of gold that
the queen might be his advocate that the
will should stand.
In the earlier history of Ireland we find
instances of a wonderful development OF
artistic skin in goldsmith work.
Queen Elizabeth had an immoderate love
for je,yelry, and the description given of
her dresses covered with gems of the great
est rarity and beauty reads like a romance.
For finger rings she had remarkable fond
ress. The same custom of wearing many
rings long prevailed in France. MERCER. in
his "Tableau de France, mentions that at
the close of the eighteenth century enor-
nous rings were worn. He adds that the
ruptial ring Is now unnoticed on the fingers
of women: wide and profane rings alto
gether conceal this warrant of their faith
So important business was the making of
rings that it was separated from the ordi-
nary work of the goldsmith. and became a
distinct trade.
Used ms n Weapon.
In the South Kensington Museum is a
massive and heavy brass ring. with &C.
tagonal bezel armed with five projecting
points, used as a weapon by peasants in
Upper Bavaria from the year 100 to the
present time. In India the preferred ring
has a large fioriated face, spreading over
three fingers like a shield. When made for
the wealthy, in massive gold, the flower
leaves are OF cut Jewels, but the humber
classes, who equally love display, are con-
tent with theirs in east silver. Arabian
princesses wore golden rings on their fin
gers. to which little bells were suspended,
well as in the flowing tresses OF their
hair. that their superior rank might be
known and that they might receive in pass
ing, the homage due to them.
A ring of old Venice work is set With
three stones in raised bezels to their bases
are affixed by swivel gold pendant or
naments each set with a garnet As the
hand moves these pendants fall about the
fingers, the stones glittering In the move
ment. This fashion was evidently Dor
rowed from the east where people delight
in pendant ornaments. and even affix them
to articles of utility.
Thumb Rings.
In the collections Of antiduaries are nu-
merous specimens OF thumb rings; signet
rings of this kind were worn by rich ciu-
zens persons of substance not entitled
TO bear arms. Falstaf Dragged that in
his earlier DAYS he had been so slender in