jasonbo
Sr. Member
Treasure hunter gets £84,000 for royal ring found in ploughed field
By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent
(Filed: 16/06/2006)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/16/nring16.xml
A tiny 650-year-old gold and diamond ring found in a field by an amateur treasure hunter fetched £84,000 at auction yesterday.
Described by Christie's staff as "unique", it is believed to have been commissioned by Edward III as a gift to one of his most loyal supporters.
The ring, which is beautifully worked, engraved with mysterious lettering and surmounted by a diamond that had almost certainly travelled along the Silk Route from India to Europe, was found on a rainy morning in 2002 by John Wood, a retired tool engineer from Manchester.
Armed with his metal detector, he had been given permission to explore ploughed fields at Manley Old Hall on the edge of the Delamere Forest in Cheshire.
A farm worker had told Mr Wood that he wasn't likely to find anything as the fields had been scoured by treasure hunters on numerous occasions. But within two minutes his detector gave a signal and Mr Wood dug up what a friend described as "looking like one of those gifts from a fairground".
On cleaning the ring Mr Wood found the inscription loyaute sans fin (loyalty without end), the letter E engraved three times, each time followed by three stars, and, either side of the diamond, the two initials V and A.
The engravings suggested at first that the ring was a love token but puzzled experts that Mr Wood showed it to.
He was also disappointed that when he registered it for treasure trove, the Government's treasure valuation committee, which concluded that the ring was 14th century, valued it at just £3,000.
He appealed and the valuation went up to £60,000. But it was research by Helen Molesworth, a specialist in Christie's jewellery department, that cracked the engraved code.
Delamere Forest was one of the favourite hunting grounds of Edward III, then pursuing England's claim on vast swathes of France in the Hundred Years War.
One of Edward's closest allies on the Continent was a wealthy Flemish textile manufacturer, Jacob Van Artevelde.
Jacob, a strong supporter of English claims in France, and the English king were close. They were each a godfather to one of the other's children.
The three Es, Miss Molesworth concluded, signified Edward and the V and A his Flemish friend. The ring was probably a gift by the king thanking his loyal friend.
Miss Molesworth said yesterday: "It is only a theory but it is a very viable possibility."
She went on: "I can't tell you how rare this ring is. It is the most exciting piece I have handled in my career.
"Diamonds were very rare for the time. The goldwork is exquisite and, historically, we are potentially dealing with a royal ring."
Setting a diamond, a great rarity in 14th century Britain, in the ring, indicated that the piece could only have been made for someone from "the very upper echelons of society then", said Miss Molesworth.
Under the terms of Mr Wood's registration of his find under the Treasure Act, it is believed that he has agreed to share the proceeds of the sale 50-50 with the landowner.
The ring was sold to an anonymous British collector and fetched double its estimate.
Mr Wood took up metal-detecting six years ago "as something to do while fishing".
He thought that he might search the land beside the river banks while waiting for bites on his line.
The ring was the find of his short career.
On previous trips he has found a George III half-guinea which he sold for £55 and a Henry VIII coin worth £145.
He estimates that he has found at least 2,000 modern pound coins that have been dropped.
But there are as many misses as hits.
"Usually it would be a lot of tin cans and the odd 10p piece," he said before the sale.
"We always make sure the farmer gets half the proceeds of anything we find, and a bottle of Scotch."
By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent
(Filed: 16/06/2006)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/16/nring16.xml
A tiny 650-year-old gold and diamond ring found in a field by an amateur treasure hunter fetched £84,000 at auction yesterday.
Described by Christie's staff as "unique", it is believed to have been commissioned by Edward III as a gift to one of his most loyal supporters.
The ring, which is beautifully worked, engraved with mysterious lettering and surmounted by a diamond that had almost certainly travelled along the Silk Route from India to Europe, was found on a rainy morning in 2002 by John Wood, a retired tool engineer from Manchester.
Armed with his metal detector, he had been given permission to explore ploughed fields at Manley Old Hall on the edge of the Delamere Forest in Cheshire.
A farm worker had told Mr Wood that he wasn't likely to find anything as the fields had been scoured by treasure hunters on numerous occasions. But within two minutes his detector gave a signal and Mr Wood dug up what a friend described as "looking like one of those gifts from a fairground".
On cleaning the ring Mr Wood found the inscription loyaute sans fin (loyalty without end), the letter E engraved three times, each time followed by three stars, and, either side of the diamond, the two initials V and A.
The engravings suggested at first that the ring was a love token but puzzled experts that Mr Wood showed it to.
He was also disappointed that when he registered it for treasure trove, the Government's treasure valuation committee, which concluded that the ring was 14th century, valued it at just £3,000.
He appealed and the valuation went up to £60,000. But it was research by Helen Molesworth, a specialist in Christie's jewellery department, that cracked the engraved code.
Delamere Forest was one of the favourite hunting grounds of Edward III, then pursuing England's claim on vast swathes of France in the Hundred Years War.
One of Edward's closest allies on the Continent was a wealthy Flemish textile manufacturer, Jacob Van Artevelde.
Jacob, a strong supporter of English claims in France, and the English king were close. They were each a godfather to one of the other's children.
The three Es, Miss Molesworth concluded, signified Edward and the V and A his Flemish friend. The ring was probably a gift by the king thanking his loyal friend.
Miss Molesworth said yesterday: "It is only a theory but it is a very viable possibility."
She went on: "I can't tell you how rare this ring is. It is the most exciting piece I have handled in my career.
"Diamonds were very rare for the time. The goldwork is exquisite and, historically, we are potentially dealing with a royal ring."
Setting a diamond, a great rarity in 14th century Britain, in the ring, indicated that the piece could only have been made for someone from "the very upper echelons of society then", said Miss Molesworth.
Under the terms of Mr Wood's registration of his find under the Treasure Act, it is believed that he has agreed to share the proceeds of the sale 50-50 with the landowner.
The ring was sold to an anonymous British collector and fetched double its estimate.
Mr Wood took up metal-detecting six years ago "as something to do while fishing".
He thought that he might search the land beside the river banks while waiting for bites on his line.
The ring was the find of his short career.
On previous trips he has found a George III half-guinea which he sold for £55 and a Henry VIII coin worth £145.
He estimates that he has found at least 2,000 modern pound coins that have been dropped.
But there are as many misses as hits.
"Usually it would be a lot of tin cans and the odd 10p piece," he said before the sale.
"We always make sure the farmer gets half the proceeds of anything we find, and a bottle of Scotch."
