{"product_id":"early-victorian-woven-hair-fede-ring","title":"Early Victorian Woven Hair Fede Ring","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn incredible antique Fede ring dating from the early Victorian period, circa 1840. The head is a gold \u003cem\u003eMani in Fede\u003c\/em\u003e (or 'hands clasped in trust') motif which is, in itself, wonderful with blue-and-white enamelled Medieval style cuffs, but the band is the really remarkable part of this ring: it is made up entirely of intricately woven hair. By its very nature, early hairwork from this period is very rare, and we've never seen a ring fashioned like this one before with a full hairwork band. Whilst I'm usually very careful to avoid the wildly overused words \"museum quality...\" just look at this ring. It could easily find a home in the V\u0026amp;A's jewellery gallery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe contemporary association of hairwork and mourning\/death is a misconception; although, of course, many mourning or memorial pieces do indeed incorporate hairwork into their designs. But more often than not, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the exchange of locks of hair had a more sentimental - or romantic - flavour. A tangible part of your loved one that you can keep close... literally worn against this skin, in this case. The combination of the Fede motif and the hairwork strongly suggests that this ring was exchanged by sweethearts. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNamed after an Italian phrase, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eMani in Fede\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, or 'hands clasped in trust', \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eFede Rings\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e have been associated with marriage and fidelity since Roman times ('dextrarum iunctio'). Also known as 'hand in hand' rings, they regained popularity in the 12th century, representing the handclasp which formed part of the marriage service - an intimate bond or connection between lovers - and were exchanged as betrothal rings well into the 19th century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEra: Victorian, circa 1840\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRing size: N or 6.75 US. Not resizable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHead: 18.5mm by 9.7mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarks: None, tested as 18ct gold\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Great antique condition; enamel is pristine and hairwork remains near perfect.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lost Heirloom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52907582128440,"sku":"LO3151","price":1500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/7387\/2952\/files\/Website-5683.jpg?v=1788530097","url":"https:\/\/lostowl.com\/products\/early-victorian-woven-hair-fede-ring","provider":"Lost Owl Jewelry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}