Bishop's Ring

Description This elaborate bishop's ring has the typical combination of a gold setting with a single, large stone, in this case malachite. The gold is decorated with openwork eagles, animal heads, and floral elements. The malachite is probably meant to resemble "toadstone," a green stone said to be found on the head of a toad and believed to have healing qualities. These rings had to be large as bishops normally wore them over gloves on the third finger of the right hand.

Exhibitions

• The Medieval Craftsman and His Modern Counterpart. Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington; Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans. 1959.
• World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1971-1972.
• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2006-2009.
• Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. 2010.

Provenance Sale, Joseph Brummer, New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Transcription] AVE MARIA GR/ATIA PLENA D/; [Translation] Hail Mary full of grace.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1927