![]() Griffith Mann is equally interested in the history of goldsmithing as in these contemplative moments, encouraged through the careful illumination of each ring in the vitrines. Installation view of ‘Treasures and Talismans: Rings from the Griffin Collection,’ with at right: Petrus Christus, “A Goldsmith in his Shop” (Netherlandish, 1449), oil on oak panel ![]() An inscription reads: “What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder.” Another created in 17th-century Germany opens into two parts, with secret compartments on either side holding dual figures: a baby and a skeleton. One diamond-encrusted skull from 17th century England opens to reveal a small ruby, representing that something beautiful thrives even in death. Those memento mori rings that date to the Renaissance are among the most spectacular of the Griffin Collection pieces, all on rare view from the private collection in the Cloisters’s stained glass-lined Glass Gallery. Treasures and Talismans: Rings from the Griffin Collection, now at the Cloisters branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, explores over 50 examples of rings from antiquity to the Renaissance, and their significance in love, devotion, and remembering mortality. Rings are one of the most personal and oldest human adornments, evolving in complexity with metalwork techniques and the gemstone trade. Barthel Bruyn the Younger, “Portrait of a Woman of the Slosgin Family of Cologne” (1557), oil on wood (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic unless noted)
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