Signet ring
Signet ring (Ring), c.1600Middling people sought to invest in items which displayed their status. The particularly wealthy members of this group invested in jewellery which would signify their wealth to those around them. A ring such as this would have been a significant asset to an upper middling man and could craft his reputation as a literate, wealthy individual with enough documents to seal to make such an investment worth it.
These items therefore also had financial and legal significance. They could be pawned as a means of credit; they could also be put down as “deposits” in business transactions. The Bristol company of soapmakers in the 1610s record numerous signet rings and other jewellery put down as “forfeits” to observe pricing agreements. Such items therefore form part of the relationship between the physical show of reputation (via flashy jewellery) and financial credit that lay at the heart of middling identity.
Rings also bind together interpersonal credit networks, showing how reputation was a social as well as individual or household concern. That is because men and women of this status level often bequeathed rings in their wills to close friends and family members (either one they owned, or money to have one made), meaning that certain individuals were gifted items like these from their broader social network, who sought to maintain social status within this group.
| Object Type | Ring |
| Year | c.1600 |
| Material | Gold, engraved |
| Owned By | SBT 1868-3/274 |
| Keywords | self-fashioning; looking; wearing; assets; reputation; money/finance; death; security; credit; William Shakespeare; metal; personal possession |
| Image Credit | Signet Ring (c. 1600), SBT 1868-3/274, v CC-BY-NC-ND; Image Courtesy of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. |