Coins, Historical Medals and Antiquities

Post-Medieval, gold erotic ring, cast cut-out design with two erotic or bestiality scenes, one of a Pan-like figure crouching over a deer with its head looking back; the second scene shows him entering the animal; framing both edges is a border panel decorated with V-shaped lines, 2cm diameter by 1.8cm high, 13.92g. Very fine £2,000-£3,000

Provenance: Found at Chalgrove (Oxfordshire), 1990; recorded on the PAS database in 2014 (BUC-F64034)

This unusual ring was found by a detectorist. It has been examined at the British Museum and no specific dating has been given. X-ray flourescence has determined the purity of the gold as 22.5 carat; this means it cannot be Roman or Medieval in date. The cataloguer is suggesting 17th-18th century, perhaps from the Grand Tour.