Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A Georgian gold and enamel Memento Mori skeletal ring, circa 1730, the hexagonal bezel with tapered shoulders, (coffin shaped), and inset with a flat rock crystal with bevelled edge, the raised bezel grooved to the sides, the hoop of D-shaped cross-section and decorated to the exterior with a skeleton in black enamel with detailed skull, rib cage, hips, legs and feet, an arrow pointing downwards between the legs towards the inscription below reading ‘memento’ in three lines on the left and ‘mori’ on the right, a stylised crown beneath, the hoop inscribed to the inside in italics ‘eliz:tucker.ob.28:Jan:1730.AElat:65.A.T.’ (Elizabeth Tucker died 28 January 1730 aged 65). £3,000-£4,000

The ring was found by a detectorist in the Vale of Glamorgan in 2022. The ring was recorded with Swansea Museum, but being less than 300 years old, the finder was not obliged to record it with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and the ring was returned to him.

The Tucker family was first documented in Devon and is a characteristic West of England name for a fuller. An Elizabeth Tucker also arrived in Carolina in 1724.


The 17th century was a time of high mortality and this precipitated a taste for Memento Mori jewellery, a type of jewel that reached its height of popularity in the early 18th century. The rings were usually worn on the little finger. The phrase translates as ‘remember thy death’, a constant reminder to the wearer to live a life without sin as they will be held accountable in death. The Rev. Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) preached “It is a great art to die well and to be learned by men in health... Place your coffin in your own eye, dig your own grave.” These rings were also worn as a symbol of faith and status.