1810 Georgian Ouroboros Snake Mourning Ring

A striking 1810 Georgian ouroboros mourning ring, bearing the inscription “Sarah Lane ob 27 Mar 1810 æt 60”. This ring belongs to a subtype of ouroboros jewelry made almost exclusively between 1810-1815, characterized by a bold use of crosshatch black enamel inlay paired with the red accents in the snake head. In combination with a body of gold, the resulting color palette is quite arresting. For reasons unknown, this crosshatch ouroboro design largely disappeared after 1815 and was not made again during revival moments. A group of this design type is illustrated on page 163 of “Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830” by Ginny Redington Dawes with Olivia Collings. A 1811 ouroboros mourning ring with a similar outer ring face is in the The Victoria & Albert museum collection (accession M.314-1926). Due to the limited producation date range, original rings (i.e. not converted from brooches) of this type can be difficult to find. According to parish records, Sarah Lane was born in 1750 and died 27 March 1810 at age 60. She was buried two days later at St. Giles’ Church, Camberwell, London. Please note that while properly foiled and collet-set, the central garnet likely replaces an earlier hair compartment.
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