An exquisite exceedingly rare French Empire miniature Holy Bible ring circa 1810 made by hand from solid 18K gold, decorated with exquisite painted fired enamel work for which the French are famous and set with hand painted kiln fired porcelain plaquettes inscribed with verses from the French La Sainte Bible of 1805 . This piece was likely a wedding gift. Indeed, many of these verses remain popular readings at weddings today.
The cover itself secures perfectly with a latch clasp made from solid 18K gold. The cover depicts Moses with the Ten Commandments. Aside from the hinged opening cover there are two separate pages which can be turned inside the ring. The inside cover, titled La Femme Vertueuse, is from Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 26:1-4. The next five pages, titled Portrait De La Femme Forte are from Proverbs 31:10-31.
The verses are wise, practical and quite lovely. Some praise the qualities and great worth of any woman of virtuous strong and noble character... "for she is worth far more than rubies" and "she is strong and respected and not afraid of the future". Other verses serve to remind their husbands just how lucky they are! ... " the husband of a good woman is a fortunate man, he will live twice as long" and " whether rich or poor, he will always be happy and smiling". Or remind husbands to acknowledge their wives... "give her credit for all she does, she deserves the respect of everyone".
For those interested, a modern English translation can be found here...
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Sirach+26%3A1-4&version=GNT
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+31%3A10-31&version=GNT
This is a little ring of great beauty and depth. We have never seen another.
This piece is in very good condition for its 200 or so years of age. On the second page beneath the cover there is some loss to the porcelain text on the front and back at the top which can be seen in the photographs. There is minor wear to the enamel on the side of the ring and on the underside of the ring as you would expect for an piece such as this which has been adored.
The miniature gold Bible measures 13/16" long by 11/16" wide by 3/16" deep (21mm x 17mm x 5mm). These measurements are for the book and don't include the band. The whole piece weighs 11.3 grams.
The ring is a size 6 US. It could be resized up or down but we would recommend that resizing be done by an experienced jeweler equipped with a laser welder. The heat from a conventional jewelers torch can easily damage antique enamel.
I just love this ring, for some reason when I look at it I imagine a woman who is getting married being given this piece as a guide to her and to her husband in their married life ahead.
This very special ring has been examined by a a specialist antique jewelry appraiser. Included is the appraisal certificate.
It will be sent carefully gift wrapped and in a lovely presentation box, the outer shipping packaging plain.
