Greek snake ring with a garnet heart, Hellenistic Greece, 2nd-1st century BC
Good morning my dear, today I wanted to let you know about an upcoming exhibition called “Cycles of Life: Rings from the Benjamin Zucker Family Collection”, which will be taking place at Les Enluminures’ New York gallery from October 31 until December 6, 2014. Let’s start out by taking a closer look at Benjamin Zucker and the story behind the collection:
“Benjamin Zucker began assembling his collection in 1969, when enchanted by a gold, enamel, and filigree 17th-century Jewish marriage ring, which was part the Melvin Gutman collection auction of antique jewelry at Sotheby Parke Bernet. This purchase proved life changing, prompting him to join the family business of dealing in gems and precious stones. Since his first purchase, he has assembled one of the largest collections of Jewish marriage rings in private hands along with, as noted by jewelry historian Diana Scarisbrick, ‘a collection of diamond jewelry that is unrivalled anywhere, even by De Beers.’”
Late renaissance diamond cluster ring – most likely of Spanish origin, ca 1630-40. The ring comes with a secret compartment that contained an opiate in some form. It was not uncommon to have these secret compartments in rings and some would hold religious relics whereas some would contain poison so that the bearer could remove their enemies of rivals by pouring it into their food or drink!
In the words of Dr. Sandra Hindman, the founder of Les Enluminures:
“We are absolutely thrilled to have acquired this unparalleled collection. It’s a dealer’s dream come true at every imaginable level — the quality of diamonds, precious colored stones, and Jewish marriage rings offered are superb, as are the accompanying provenances. I have known Benjamin Zucker for a long time, and I have always admired his exquisite taste as a collector, as well as his acute intelligence. It’s a wonderful honor to be able to pay tribute to his level of dedication by advancing further scholarship on his collection. We especially look forward to presenting these incredible examples of such dedicated connoisseurship to clients, old and new, as wearable, intimate works of art.”
The exhibition will show how rings present to us the culture of their time, and it will also explore the distinctive role of rings as the most personal forms of jewellery. Let’s look at some of these antique ring-highlights:
Renaissance Gimmel Ring with Memento Mori, dated 1631
Renaissance Gimmel Ring with Memento Mori, dated 1631
RENAISSANCE GIMMEL RING WITH MEMENTO MORI, Germany, dated 1631
The word gimmel comes from the Latin word for twin: gemellus. This refers to the double bezel and hoop that open up to show the names and date of the ring. The twinning of the two stones and hoops refers to a man and a woman, and the inscription reads:
“What God has joined together let not man put asunder“ (Matt. 19:6, Mark 10:9)
… a reference to the strength of the marriage vows. The symbolism of the ring continues with the hands offering hearts at the shoulders of the ring, as well as the representation of a warm heart and fidelity by the ruby and the indestructible diamond.
Roman gold ring with two snakes
Roman gold ring with two snakes
ROMAN SNAKE RING
Roman Empire, c. 2nd century AD. Since we love snake jewellery here on the blog, we obviously have our eyes on this Roman gold snake ring! It consists of a single gold rod with realistically modeled snake heads at each end, bent into a coil of two turns, with the heads turned back on themselves. Similar types of gold snake rings and bracelets have been found at Pompeii, near modern Naples in Italy, dating to no later than AD 79, when Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. And just on a side note: when Pompeii was rediscovered ca 1,500 years after the eruption, it was found that the objects that were buried beneath the city had all been well preserved as a result of the lack of air and moisture, and suddenly we were given the most extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana!
So my dear, if you find yourself in our beloved New York at any point during October 31 and December 6, 2014, do make sure to pop by Les Enluminures and see this exquisite exhibition with your own eyes – and do tell us about your favourite pieces!
23 East 73rd Street, 7th Floor, Penthouse
New York, NY 10021
tel +1 212 717 7273
Opening Hours: Mondays to Saturdays 10 AM to 6 PM
Decades of Elegance 