Masquerade Ring Concealing a Lover’s Inscription, circa1760

A Gem Set Masquerade Ring Concealing a Lover’s Inscription.

Western Europe, possibly Italy, circa 1760.

Measurements
Bezel: 0.9 × 0.8 cm.
Ring size: N UK / 6.75 US / 54 EU.
Weight: 2.3 grams.
Materials: High-carat gold, silver, enamel, diamonds, ruby.

This characterful masquerade ring is finely modelled with a black-and-white enamelled mask, the features animated by rose-cut diamond eyes and a small ruby set into the open mouth. The head is framed by a serrated gold collet and flanked by silver foliate clusters each set with a further rose-cut diamond. The shank is composed of high-carat gold, formed as asymmetrical rococo scrolls with pierced and chased detailing throughout. The enamel remains entirely original and unrestored.

The reverse of the bezel is open, revealing white enamel engraved with faint traces of an original inscription. Though now largely worn, it would likely have borne a concealed love sentiment, comparable to the formula Je cache mes amours (“I mask my love”), found on related rings of mid-18th-century manufacture. The theme of the masked lover — drawn from contemporary masquerade culture and its associations with flirtation, secrecy, and clandestine courtship — here transforms the jewel into a witty and intimate token.

Comparisons
A closely related example is published in Rings: Alice and Louis Koch Collection, plate 852, p. 261 (Anna Beatriz Chadour). See also The Power of Love: Jewels, Romance and Eternity, fig. 20a–b, p. 73 (Beatriz Chadour Sampson), for a similar ring bearing the inscription Je cache mes amours.