English, dated 1724 | Mourning Ring with a Skeleton

This curious and well preserved memento mori funerary ring is near identical to another from the Franks Bequest in the British Museum, London (inv. no. AF 1638). The British Museum ring similarly shows an enamelled skeleton behind a coffin shaped piece of rock crystal. It is dedicated to an R. Wenborn whose death date was 4 December 1724. The dating and the similarity with the present ring would indicate that the two were made by the same maker. The present ring is thus a rare and important example of its type.