18th century Italian Heart-shaped Cluster Ring

An unusual and gorgeous 18th century Italian cluster ring, likely made c. 1720-60, the enormous paisley heart shaped ring face set with green-foiled table-cut quartz in a triple layered cluster formation. Like most 18th century Italian rings, the back shank has been struck with a regional letter punch, possibly [TO] for Torino (Turin). The setting style — individual square bezels with table-cuts in rub-over collets — is 17th century in design and appearance; its survival on an 18th century ring can be explained by southern Europe’s more conservative jewelry styles and a tendency to preserve much older designs. A related heart-shaped ring with a figural mask is in the Koch collection (number 851), identified as 18th century Italian. A nearly identical ring, set with table-cut garnets, is in the collection of Peter Szuhay. An earlier prototype from late 17th century, similarly set with color-foiled gems in square rub-over settings, is in the Pepoli Regional Museum, Italy. The present ring’s large ring head is rather unusual for historic rings, but its design origin can be traced to the 17th century. A similarly large paisley heart ring can be seen in the 1620 portrait of Isabel de Borbón, Wife of Philip IV, by Rodrigo de Villandrando. Another 17th century heart-shaped cluster ring is in the Ashmolean Museum (number 162, plate 23, Finger Rings by Diana Scarisbrick and Martin Henig).
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