Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Jewish Marriage Ring
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Rings of this type were made especially for Jewish wedding ceremonies, during which the groom would place one on the bride's middle finger. The filigree and enamel floral ornaments are characteristic of this type of ring. Elaborate examples could also be adorned with a complete miniature gabled building, thought to represent Solomon's temple or a synagogue. (The connection between the new husband and wife and their future life together is compared to a building in the Torah.) Here, this motif is reduced to a gabled rooftop covered with blue enamel. This roof opens up to one side and reveals a gold plate inscribed in Hebrew with the first letters of "Mazel tov" (Good luck).
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Melvin Gutman, New York, by 1969; Sale, The Melvin Gutman Jewelry, Part V, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 15 May 1970, lot 111, p. 39 [illus.]; Zucker Family Collection, New York, 1970, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2021, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. |
| 2006-2009 | 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. |
Geographies
Venice (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Overall H: 1 13/16 x W: 1 1/16 in. (4.6 x 2.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Rachel Zucker in honor of Charles and Lotty Zucker and Victor and Rosa Klagsbald, 2021
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.2386