Signet ring
The signet ring is a ring that previously served as a stamp seal and was considered a symbol of power and authority. In Germany today it is mainly worn as a symbol of togetherness and identification with one's origin.
Wearing a signet ring
Nowadays everyone can wear the signet ring. When engraving on the signet ring, initials, fantasy coats of arms, figurative representations of all kinds and ornaments are possible without restrictions. In Germany, family coats of arms are subject to the protection standard of § 12 BGB ( naming law ), so that only members of the relevant family are authorized to use a specific coat of arms.
In the past, signet rings were mostly worn by members of the nobility. Signet rings are known and very popular as school rings in American schools and universities. The so-called "class ring" is decorated with the school coat of arms, the year of graduation and symbols, for example, for sports or arts that the pupil exercises.
The signet ring is worn on the ring finger (finger between the middle finger and the little finger). It is to be worn in such a way that the engraving is "legible" for the person opposite, not for the wearer. Regional, denominational and family-specific circumstances determine whether the right or left hand is used. Occasionally, the signet ring is also worn on the little finger, be it because the wearer thinks it appropriate or because the diameter of the ring has become too small for the ring finger over the years. When it comes to the size and design of the seal ring, the limits of “good taste” are generally preserved. It is unusual today to wear the signet ring on the thumb or forefinger, as was the case in the Middle Ages.
history
The signet ring was originally used to seal documents. Liquid wax had to be dripped onto the documents to be sealed and the seal ring had to be pressed into the still soft wax. In the Middle Ages and ancient times, such a ring was generally reserved for the upper class and was a symbol of their authority or power. Later every middle-class family had its own seal (often the family coat of arms ).
As early as 2000 BC Rings were worn in Egypt that were also used as signet rings. The scarab beetle on these rings was usually carved from a gemstone and decorated with the jewelry maker's hieroglyph on the underside. Initially, these depictions of beetles were drilled lengthways and worn around the finger on a linen cord - very soon this linen thread was then replaced by gold wire. From 1500 BC More stable ring rails were used instead of gold wire and the scarab beetle was riveted onto these rails so that it remained freely rotatable. Even later, during the reign of Tut-ench-Amun, the first modern signet rings appeared, with the name of the ring bearer engraved on the decorative faceplate of the ring. During this time, more complicated rings were made, which were decorated with small figures of the gods and symbolically significant animals, and the lotus flower was also used as a ring motif and decorated with elaborate gemstone inlays. Between 1550 BC BC and 1500 BC At the same time in ancient Egypt , in Ugarit and among the Hittites . In Mesopotamia , however, it was not used. In Iran , the signet ring was only seen at the end of the second and beginning of the first millennium BC. In the Luristan region . A few centuries later it was in use during the Achaemenid Empire and also in Greece.
Manufacture and material
The signet ring mostly consists of the metals gold , silver , bronze or copper . All seals have a mirror-inverted engraving of an ornament, initials or a combination of both. The seal ring is manufactured in several variants, either as a uniformly cast seal ring or made up of two parts from plates and brackets; next to it also consisting of a bent metal band. Signet rings, on the other hand, are rarely covered with a seal stone. In addition to the classic materials such as gold and silver, surgical steel and other metals are also used today, which due to their nature can usually only be manufactured by machine.
Roman signet ring in gold with a portrait of Commodus , 180–200 AD, found in Tongeren , Gallo-Roman Museum Tongeren
Signet ring from Alaric II. Vienna , Kunsthistorisches Museum
Signet ring from the Sassanid period
Signet ring, probably 16th century, Cape Creek site (Croatan), Buxton, Dare County, North Carolina
Seal ring of the Sauter family, Switzerland
Marine signet ring of the frigate Niedersachsen made of surgical steel , 2014
See also
- Cylinder seal
- seal
- Fisherman's ring - the Pope's signet ring
literature
- Dietz-Otto Edzard and a .: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology . Volume 3. de Gruyter, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-11-003705-X .
- Dietz Otto Edzard: History of Mesopotamia. From the Sumerians to Alexander the Great. Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-51664-5 , ( Beck's historical library ).
- Gebhard J. Selz : Sumerians and Akkadians. History, society, culture. Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50874-X , ( Beck'sche series 2374 CH Beck Wissen ).
Web links
- Focus : A piece of jewelery with a story - the signet ring
- Authorization to conduct the engraving of coats of arms
Individual evidence
- ↑ “Every person who wears such a signet ring has a story to tell with this special piece of jewelry. When I ask the owner of a ring about it, he often tells me the family story with a smile on his face. For example, how the engraved coat of arms was created and where the family originally comes from, ”says Patricia Esser-Föhre from the Central Association of German Goldsmiths, Silversmiths and Jewelers in Osnabrück. Press article Focus Online from January 8, 2013