A rare 16th-century signet ring will be auctioned next week at Noonans Mayfair’s “Jewellery, Watches, Silver, and Objects of Vertu” sale in London.
The ring, previously unrecorded, is carved with the Warner family coat of arms. It is believed to have been a gift from Tudor financier and merchant Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579) to Mark Warner, a cloth merchant and liveryman of the Drapers’ Company in London. Warner was also a member of the parish of All Hallows on Lombard Street.
The ring remained in the Warner family, passed down privately since the 19th century, until around 2010, according to the auction catalogue. It is estimated to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 ($13,550 to $20,330).
The ring features a rock crystal bezel, carved with an intaglio of the coat of arms, with foil behind it to enhance the colors. The gold mount is closed, with tapered shoulders. On the underside of the bezel, the Gresham family crest—a grasshopper—is engraved in green enamel.
This piece is part of a series of “Gresham grasshopper” seal rings given by Gresham to business associates and acquaintances between 1560 and 1575. Nine examples of these rings are known to exist, including one in the British Museum, another in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a third in St. Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff. The Warner ring brings the total number of known examples to ten, said Frances Noble, associate director and head of jewellery at Noonans.
It is the first of its kind to be offered at auction in nearly 50 years.
The Gresham family was a prominent Norfolk merchant and financier family. Thomas Gresham, who trained as a merchant under his uncle Sir John Gresham, was also skilled in foreign exchange and finance. He worked for the Crown under several Tudor monarchs, including Henry VIII, Edward IV, Mary, and Elizabeth I.
Mark Warner, like Gresham, was involved in both the cloth trade and finance. During that time, merchants around Lombard Street would often pool their resources to insure shipments, a practice that led to the establishment of the Chamber of Assurances in 1575. Gresham’s longtime agent, Richard Chandler, was appointed to a role in the Royal Exchange.
Given their shared professions and proximity, it is likely that Gresham and Warner had frequent interactions, according to Noble.
Although historians have speculated on the reasons behind Gresham’s gifting of these rings, no conclusive theory has emerged. Some suggest that Gresham may have chosen to gift them to individuals who could benefit him in the future. The hidden grasshopper crest inside each ring may have served as a reminder of where the recipient’s loyalties should lie.
Noonans Mayfair’s “Jewellery, Watches, Silver, and Objects of Vertu” sale will take place on June 17.
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