Words Carried
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The inscription as a private object
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Words have been placed on jewellery for centuries, sometimes openly and sometimes hidden from view.
Here, we look at some of the traditions that grew around them — from posy rings and their private inscriptions to words placed on amulets and talismans.
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The Tradition of
The Posy Ring
Words kept close.
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The posy ring belongs to a long tradition of words engraved on rings. Short inscriptions expressed love, fidelity, friendship, remembrance or devotion, often hidden inside the band.
The tradition was defined by its words rather than by a particular style of ring. Surviving examples span centuries, with inscriptions ranging from mottos and verses to brief exchanges between giver and wearer.
Their language has a character of its own. Older spellings and turns of phrase can seem tender, playful, curious or unexpectedly direct today.
Some of these old words and spellings are gathered here, alongside the contemporary inscriptions they continue to inspire.
Talismans
An object marked with purpose
Across different periods and cultures, people have worn and carried objects for protection, good fortune, devotion and other purposes.
The terms amulet and talisman have often overlapped. Amulets are particularly associated with protection, while talismans have frequently been made or marked for a particular purpose.
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This is where the history becomes particularly interesting to an engraver.
A talisman might draw its significance from its material, its form, an image or symbol, an inscription — or from several of these things brought together.
Engraving was one way an object could be deliberately marked with words, signs or images connected to its purpose.
That tradition has an obvious connection to the work I make today. A stone may be chosen for an association it has gathered through history, a symbol for what it represents, and an inscription for something entirely personal.
The result does not need to make a claim about what an object can do. Its significance can simply lie in what has been deliberately chosen and placed upon it.
Still Carried…
The reasons for engraving words onto personal objects have changed across time, but the impulse itself is familiar.
A name inside a ring. A phrase kept against the body. A symbol chosen for one person. Words understood by nobody else.
Hand engraving gives those things a physical place to remain.
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