Georgian Mourning Ring for Fred Baury

An early 19th century Georgian mourning ring, featuring a glass locket compartment holding a tenderly woven love knot of brown hair, surrounded by a flower cluster of hand-cut jet. An inscription on the back dedicates it as a memorial to Fred Baury, born Ap. 1792, AE 22, which is short for the Latin term "aetatis suae" which means age when died.

We found a Fred Baury, an American naval officer from a well-respected military family, who served in the war of 1812 and whose ship disappeared at sea in 1814 when he was only 22. The birth date aligns with the inscription, and the disappearance would explain why there is no death date, as is common for mourning rings of the period. The family would have no way to verify the actual date Fred died, just his age when last seen. The style of the ring dates to around 1820, which also makes sense as the family probably held out hope for some time that he might be found.

As this ring was acquired at a private sale in New England, we do believe this is the same young man.

https://www.masshist.org/object-of-the-month/objects/may-2020

Details: Measuring approximately 1/2" north to south at the center front, with a 2.37 mm wdth at the center back. Not marked for gold content, the ring XRF tests to just under 10k. Weighs approximately 3.2 grams.

Size: Hits 8 1/2 on the mandrel but because of the slightly D-shaped hoop might fit an 8 3/4. We do not recommend resizing.

Condition: In excellent very antique condition. There is a slight amount of dust under the glass, and some subtle abrasion to the jet and glass. A grey line at the center back of the band indicates a previous resizing, done some time ago.