A popular children’s pastime of hunting for buried treasure begins with dreams of unearthing pots of gold or a cache of jewels, but usually ends with potholes in a backyard revealing nothing more than sticks and stones. Those who continue to try their luck as adults use a better tool than a spade and shovel: a metal detector, with which some do actually find bits and bobs. It is exceedingly rare for anyone to discover a “holy trinity item” with gold, jewel, and royal provenance. A once-in-a-lifetime find of just such an object was recently revealed by the British Museum.
Tudor Emblematic Pendant
One side of this early 16th-century pendant is decorated with a pomegranate bush, the emblem of Katherine of Aragon, who was the first wife of the Tudor King Henry VIII. Her name, “Catalina,” was anglicized to Katherine in accordance with the contemporary usage in England. After the introduction of the Napoleonic Code (the French civil code enacted in 1804), the spelling of the name was changed to Catherine and standardized.
Also depicted is a double-headed red and white rose, a symbol of the House of Tudor, entwined with the bush. On the other side of the pendant are ornately engraved letters: “H” for Henry and “K” for Katherine tied together by a sinuous ribbon. It is speculated that this pendant was gifted to a member of their court.
Alas, the real-life couple did not stay entwined. Theirs was a messy divorce that led to a change in official religion for the country, from Catholicism to Protestantism. It was unwise for King Henry’s courtiers to show allegiance to the tossed-aside former queen, so few objects connected with Katherine are known today. As chief executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson articulates fittingly, “This beautiful pendant is a thrilling discovery giving us a tangible connection to Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon and enriches our understanding of the Royal Court at the time.”
Royal Ring
The ring, discovered in Delamere Forest in Cheshire, U.K., is important as there are only a handful of rings from this period that still exist. As no museum decided to purchase the piece, the detectorist brought it to the auction house Christie’s. He had spent years researching it and was convinced the ring had a royal connection. The forest had been a favorite royal hunting ground of the 14th-century King Edward III, and there were three E’s engraved on the ring along with a mysterious V and A. The ring’s inscription, “loyauté sans fin,” translates from the French as “loyalty without end.”
When the ring was brought to the attention of Helen Molesworth, then a jewelry specialist at Christie’s and now a curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, she thought the inscription marked it not as a love ring, but a sign of political loyalty. As she recounted in a video interview with Beekman New York Fine Jewelry, while researching the ring, she came across a Flemish textiles tycoon from the period named Jacob Van Artevelde. She wondered if he might be the V and A on the ring. She later learned that Van Artevelde and King Edward had been dear friends and godparents to each other’s children, and concluded that the King had gifted this ring to his friend and political supporter.
In the interview, Molesworth describes how the ring was consigned to Christie’s, and that on the day of the 2006 sale the British Museum showed up with lawyers. She was concerned that they were going to demand the lot be pulled from auction. However, they did not, and the ring sold for £84,000. Molesworth’s theory about the ring is now universally accepted and has been published in subsequent books.
Detectorists Charlie Clarke and John Wood both “struck gold.” By doing so, they uncovered a window into the past that further enriches our present day understanding of history.