A curious artist wrought 'em,
With joynts so close as not to be perceiv'd;
Yet are they both each other's counterpart.
John Dryden (1631- 1700), from Don Sebastian (1690)
Pensate che i primi a scambiarsi i così detti "anelli d'amore" furono gli antichi Egizi per i quali il cerchio, una linea senza fine, aveva un significato particolare in quanto rappresentava la vita eterna e l'amore ed alla sua apertura circolare veniva attribuito il valore di una sorta di porta aperta verso mondi sconosciuti;
Stampa dal dipinto originale ad acquerello dal titolo "In a Hole in the Ground", Lord of the Rings
Anello tardo egizio in legno intagliato.
Nell'esempio illustrato nella fotografia sottostante potete ammirare una fede fatta in oro massiccio proprio nel modello che vi ho testé descritto:
Fede del XVI° secolo
In Germania gli abili maestri orafi del 1500 crearono il GIMMEL o GIMMAL RING, dal latino 'GEMELLUS' che significa gemello e che già ci rende edotti sulla sua struttura: in questo caso due erano gli anelli che, uniti, formavano un unicum, due anelli complementari tra loro erano il dono che gli innamorati si scambiavano in occasione del fidanzamento promettendosi amore eterno ed il giorno del matrimonio, quando la promessa veniva benedetta ed il vincolo che li legava diveniva Sacro ed Indissolubile, gli anelli si univano ed il nuovo anello, composto delle due metà, veniva di solito portato dalla sposa.
Gimmel Ring, British Museum
Ma vi è qualcosa che ancora non vi ho detto che rende questi anelli particolarmente preziosi: osservate con attenzione l'immagine che segue che rappresenta un GIMMEL RING tedesco datato 1631 e conservato al Metropolitan Museum di New York:
una delle due parti in cui l'anello è suddiviso è ornata da un rubino, l'altra da un diamante. Quando l'anello combinato è diviso nelle sue due metà, si ottiene un anello con diamante con inciso "QUOD DEUS CONIUNXIT"e un anello con rubino con incise le parole "HOMO NON SEPARET.", ossia :"Ciò che Dio ha unito nessun uomo mai separi".
In epoca elisabettiana gli anelli gemelli in Inghilterra vennero nominati JOINT RING e di essi è fatta menzione in numerose opere letterarie di Shakespeare, incluso l'Othello, ed anche il poema di Robert Herrick - lirico inglese del XVII secolo appartenente alla scuola dei Poeti Cavalieri - dal titolo The Jimmall Ring or True-Love Knot (1648) basa la propria trama su di un Gimmal / Gimmel Ring.
Della stessa epoca è la creazione irlandese detta CLADDAGH RING, in cui le parti di cui si compone l'anello sono tre, due esterne che recano come fregio una mano, quella centrale un cuore
spesso con una corona sopra: unito l'anello le due mani sembrano custodire il cuore dal male in nome dell'Amore.
POSY RING “PROVIDENCE DIVINE HATH MADE THEE MINE”, XVII° secolo, inglese, Met Museum of Art
Tornando ai GIMMEL RINGS, prima che venisse introdotta la Marriage Act del 1753 in Inghilterra ed in Galles, il matrimonio non richiedeva una cerimonia formale per essere valido, era sufficiente il mutuo consenso ed erano necessari taluni segni e simboli che tale consenso dovevano dimostrare. Ebbene, con i suoi doppi componenti, ognuno appartenente ad un membro della coppia, il GIMMEL RING era il modo perfetto per comunicare ed esprimere che entrambe le parti condividevano legalmente una vita insieme.
In epoche più recenti tali anelli si sono evoluti per divenire o un anello unico recante come decoro la medesima simbologia di cui si faceva portatore quello composto, come ci mostra l'esempio di questa fotografia in cui possiamo vedere un anello di fidanzamento di epoca Regency,
o, rimanendo composti ed uniti da un perno, anelli più stilizzati, a semplice 'schiavetta', come erano anticamente i più semplici anelli egizi risalenti a ben 5000 anni or sono !
GIMMEL RING di epoca vittoriana (1897)
GIMMEL RING di epoca edoardiana (1917)
E, rimanendo sempre nell'epoca edoardiana, mi piace citare una delle più belle frasi di Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 - 1929), scrittore, drammaturgo e librettista austriaco, per chiudere romanticamente questo mio scritto dedicato, in ultima istanza, al nobile sentimento dell'Amore che non conosce limiti alla propria forza:
Una piuma può tornire una pietra se la muove la mano dell’amore.
ed ancor prima, in piena epoca vittoriana, scriveva Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), considerato fondatore del Romanticismo francese:
portava un vecchio cappello ed un cappotto strappato. L’acqua gli entrava nelle scarpe e le stelle nell’animo.
Augurando a ciascuno di voi di aver sempre a propria guida questo sentimento, maestro e padre di tutti gli altri che al bene afferiscono, vi giunga gradito il mio più sentito ringraziamento,
a presto 💕
A curious artist wrought 'em,
With joynts so close as not to be perceiv'd;
Yet are they both each other's counterpart.
John Dryden (1631- 1700), from Don Sebastian (1690)
- picture 1 - Gold engagement ring, or fede ring, made in southern Germany in the last quarter of the XVIth century
- picture 2
The story of rings as a symbol of love takes us back in time quite a lot ...
Think that the first to exchange the so-called "love rings" were the ancient Egyptians for whom the circle, as an endless line, had a special significance as it represented eternal life and love and at its circular opening was attributed the value of something as an open door to unknown worlds;
- picture 3 - Print from the original watercolor "In A Hole in the Ground," Lord of the Rings
It was then attributed to them a considerable importance even though they were often made with simple materials such as bamboo canes - and in this case they were but 'slave rings' - or wood.
- picture 4 - Late Egyptian ring made by carved wood.
In the classical culture rings were used as seals and it is said that it was just a seal that inspired the first engagement ring known in the ancient Rome. Therefore, if the Egyptian culture had the merit of having tied love to a ring, Romans had that of having turned it into the symbol of marriage. Most commonly, the wedding ring earned the definition of "Fede"(Faith) and depicted two clasped hands as a sign of love or agreement / dextrarum iunctio, made of in gold or carved in semiprecious stones such as garnet or onyx.
In the example shown in the photo below you can see a Fede made of solid gold in the model that I have just described to you:
- picture 5 - Fede ring of the XVIth century
The so-called Fede rings, even if forged in different styles were in vogue in Europe for over a thousand years and then fell into disuse to come back strongly prevailing during the low-medieval period, to be exact with the year 1100, to become more and more elaborate over time and reach the pinnacle of their glory, from a manufacturing point of view, in the XVIth century in Germany, Great Britain and Ireland ... yes, it was the Renaissance period which saw the most precious love rings that were never created before !
In Germany, skilled goldsmiths created, in 1500, the GIMMEL or GIMMAL RING, from the Latin 'Gemellus' which means twin, word which makes us aware about its structure: in this case, the rings were two, joined, to form a unique ring, two complementary rings, one for each member of the couple was the gift that lovers exchanged on the occasion of their engagement promising each other eternal love and on the wedding day, when the promise was blessed and the bond linking them became Sacred and Indissoluble, the rings were united and the new ring, compound of the two halves, was usually put on the bride's finger
- picture 6 - Gimmel Ring, British Museum
But there is something that I still haven't told you that makes these rings so very precious: look carefully the following picture which represents a German GIMMEL RING dated 1631 kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York:
- picture 7
one of the two parts into which the ring is divided is adorned with a ruby, the other with a diamond. When the ring is divided into its halves, you get a diamond ring engraved with the words "QUOD DEUS CONIUNXIT"and a ruby ring engraved with the words "NO HOMO SEPARET.", Namely: "What God has joined no man never separate."
During the Elizabethan times the twin rings in England were named JOINT RING and they're mentioned in many literary works of Shakespeare, including Othello, and even the poem by Robert Herrick - English lyric poet belonging to the school of the Knights Poets - entitled the Ring Jimmall or True-Love Knot(1648) bases its plot on a Gimmal / Gimmel Ring.
From the same period is the Irish creation known as CLADDAGH RING, in which the parts that make up the ring are three, three interlocking hoops, the two external bearing a hand as a frieze, that in the middle a heart
- picture 8
often with a crown above: when worn, the two clasped hands seem to guard the heart from the evil in the name of Love.
- picture 9
Also to the XVIIth century belong the POSY RINGS - posy or posie is the line from a poem - which were all the rage already a few centuries before, especially in the British Isles: they were Fede rings that bore an inscription on the outside at first, then, becoming the quotations increasingly personal and private, it was required to master goldsmiths the ability to engrave the inscription inside the ring, and so it was that merging two gold coins they were obtained two love rings where the poor were content to simply write sentences such as "Love me and leave me not" or "Two bodies, one heart."
- picture 10 - POSY RING "DIVINE PROVIDENCE HATH MADE THEE MINE", XVIIth c., English, Met Museum of Art
Returning to GIMMEL RINGS, before it was introduced the Marriage Act of 1753 in England and Wales, marriage didn't require a formal ceremony to be valid, it was enough a mutual consent and were required certain signs and symbols that such consent had to demonstrate. Well, with its twin components, each belonging to a member of the couple, the GIMMEL RING was the perfect way to communicate and express that both parties legally shared a life together.
In recenter times these rings have evolved to become or a single ring bearing the same decoration and therefore the same symbolic meaning of the older ones which were composed, as we may see from the example of this photograph where there is a Regency era engagement ring,
- picture 11
or, remained composed and united by a pin: they were more stylized rings, simple 'slave rings' as the simplest Egyptians rings dating back to almost 5000 years ago!
- picture 12 - GIMMEL RING belonging to the Victorian age (1897)
- picture 13 - GIMMEL RING dating back to the Edwardian era (1917)
And, always remaining in the Edwardian era, I like to quote one of the most beautiful phrases of Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 - 1929), Austrian writer, playwrighter and librettist, to close romantically this writing of mine, ultimately dedicated to the noble sentiment of Love that knows no limits to its Power:
and even before, in full Victorian era, Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), considered the founder of the French Romanticism, wrote:
Wishing each of you to have always this feeling as your own guide, for it is teacher and father of all others sentiments belonging to good, may you receive welcome my most heartfelt thanks,
see you soon 💕
Think that the first to exchange the so-called "love rings" were the ancient Egyptians for whom the circle, as an endless line, had a special significance as it represented eternal life and love and at its circular opening was attributed the value of something as an open door to unknown worlds;
- picture 3 - Print from the original watercolor "In A Hole in the Ground," Lord of the Rings
It was then attributed to them a considerable importance even though they were often made with simple materials such as bamboo canes - and in this case they were but 'slave rings' - or wood.
- picture 4 - Late Egyptian ring made by carved wood.
In the classical culture rings were used as seals and it is said that it was just a seal that inspired the first engagement ring known in the ancient Rome. Therefore, if the Egyptian culture had the merit of having tied love to a ring, Romans had that of having turned it into the symbol of marriage. Most commonly, the wedding ring earned the definition of "Fede"(Faith) and depicted two clasped hands as a sign of love or agreement / dextrarum iunctio, made of in gold or carved in semiprecious stones such as garnet or onyx.
In the example shown in the photo below you can see a Fede made of solid gold in the model that I have just described to you:
- picture 5 - Fede ring of the XVIth century
The so-called Fede rings, even if forged in different styles were in vogue in Europe for over a thousand years and then fell into disuse to come back strongly prevailing during the low-medieval period, to be exact with the year 1100, to become more and more elaborate over time and reach the pinnacle of their glory, from a manufacturing point of view, in the XVIth century in Germany, Great Britain and Ireland ... yes, it was the Renaissance period which saw the most precious love rings that were never created before !
In Germany, skilled goldsmiths created, in 1500, the GIMMEL or GIMMAL RING, from the Latin 'Gemellus' which means twin, word which makes us aware about its structure: in this case, the rings were two, joined, to form a unique ring, two complementary rings, one for each member of the couple was the gift that lovers exchanged on the occasion of their engagement promising each other eternal love and on the wedding day, when the promise was blessed and the bond linking them became Sacred and Indissoluble, the rings were united and the new ring, compound of the two halves, was usually put on the bride's finger
- picture 6 - Gimmel Ring, British Museum
But there is something that I still haven't told you that makes these rings so very precious: look carefully the following picture which represents a German GIMMEL RING dated 1631 kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York:
- picture 7
one of the two parts into which the ring is divided is adorned with a ruby, the other with a diamond. When the ring is divided into its halves, you get a diamond ring engraved with the words "QUOD DEUS CONIUNXIT"and a ruby ring engraved with the words "NO HOMO SEPARET.", Namely: "What God has joined no man never separate."
During the Elizabethan times the twin rings in England were named JOINT RING and they're mentioned in many literary works of Shakespeare, including Othello, and even the poem by Robert Herrick - English lyric poet belonging to the school of the Knights Poets - entitled the Ring Jimmall or True-Love Knot(1648) bases its plot on a Gimmal / Gimmel Ring.
From the same period is the Irish creation known as CLADDAGH RING, in which the parts that make up the ring are three, three interlocking hoops, the two external bearing a hand as a frieze, that in the middle a heart
- picture 8
often with a crown above: when worn, the two clasped hands seem to guard the heart from the evil in the name of Love.
- picture 9
Also to the XVIIth century belong the POSY RINGS - posy or posie is the line from a poem - which were all the rage already a few centuries before, especially in the British Isles: they were Fede rings that bore an inscription on the outside at first, then, becoming the quotations increasingly personal and private, it was required to master goldsmiths the ability to engrave the inscription inside the ring, and so it was that merging two gold coins they were obtained two love rings where the poor were content to simply write sentences such as "Love me and leave me not" or "Two bodies, one heart."
- picture 10 - POSY RING "DIVINE PROVIDENCE HATH MADE THEE MINE", XVIIth c., English, Met Museum of Art
Returning to GIMMEL RINGS, before it was introduced the Marriage Act of 1753 in England and Wales, marriage didn't require a formal ceremony to be valid, it was enough a mutual consent and were required certain signs and symbols that such consent had to demonstrate. Well, with its twin components, each belonging to a member of the couple, the GIMMEL RING was the perfect way to communicate and express that both parties legally shared a life together.
In recenter times these rings have evolved to become or a single ring bearing the same decoration and therefore the same symbolic meaning of the older ones which were composed, as we may see from the example of this photograph where there is a Regency era engagement ring,
- picture 11
or, remained composed and united by a pin: they were more stylized rings, simple 'slave rings' as the simplest Egyptians rings dating back to almost 5000 years ago!
- picture 12 - GIMMEL RING belonging to the Victorian age (1897)
- picture 13 - GIMMEL RING dating back to the Edwardian era (1917)
And, always remaining in the Edwardian era, I like to quote one of the most beautiful phrases of Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874 - 1929), Austrian writer, playwrighter and librettist, to close romantically this writing of mine, ultimately dedicated to the noble sentiment of Love that knows no limits to its Power:
A feather can throw a stone if to move it it is the hand of love.
and even before, in full Victorian era, Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), considered the founder of the French Romanticism, wrote:
I met on the street a man, very poor and in love.
He wore an old hat and a torn coat.
The water entered into his shoes and the stars into his soul.
Wishing each of you to have always this feeling as your own guide, for it is teacher and father of all others sentiments belonging to good, may you receive welcome my most heartfelt thanks,
see you soon 💕
