c.1880-90 Victorian Red Enamel Diamond Snake Ring

A c. 1880-90 snake ring, the solid 18k yellow gold body enameled in translucent red, the serpent head set with 10 old European cut diamonds and two rubies for eyes, the back shank bearing a Paris eagle-head assay. The ring is essentially a miniaturization of a snake bracelet prototype extremely popular c. 1860-80, as exemplified by a design drawing from the firm of John Brogden in the Victoria & Albert Museum (E.2:101-1986), and by the bracelet illustrated on p. 321 of ‘Le Grand Frisson’ by Diana Scarisbrick. Compared against the Chaumet/Scarisbrick example, an analogous relationship can be established: both feature a triangular cluster of diamonds atop the snake head, with ruby eyes and a slightly open mouth. The ring charmingly retains the articulated “joints” seen in the bracelet, even though as a feature it is purely decorative rather than functional. A closely similar snake ring, also from the same period, was once in the collection of Romanov Russia Chicago. It is more common to find these snake jewels enameled in blue. However, red enamel has been popular since the Renaissance and by the Georgian era was a popular shade for sentimental and amatory jewels. A late Victorian bangle bracelet enameled in a similar shade of antimony red is illustrated on p. 188 of “Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg” by Ulia Tillander.

Snake jewels—most commonly as rings or bangles—are some of the oldest design forms rooted in antiquity. For instance, a Roman snake ring dating from the 1st century AD is in the British Museum (1872,0604.212), and an even older snake bracelet from the 3rd century BC is in the MET (18.2.19). The oldest examples, dating 8th-7th centuries BC, originate from the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, as well as hellenistic Egypt. Symbolic significance varied from fertility and healing for the Greeks, to magic ritual and eternity for the Egyptians (in the form of the Ouroboros). European fascination and adaptation of snake symbology was initially limited to esoteric alchemy, with the ouroboros serving as a purifying glyph for the harmony of opposites, the eternal unity of all. Following the Enlightenment, greater public appetite for non-Christian symbology led to its transformation from esoteric glyph to popular design motif. Post-1780 neoclassical enthusiasm for revivalist designs from antiquity further fueled the popularity of snake jewelry. Various snake rings, bracelets, charms, and pendants are a staple of Georgian and Victorian jewelry, often rendered in the context of sentimentalism or mourning to represent the eternal nature of the soul and of love.
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