It has been dated to c.1250 – roughly a century before the Black Death – and is in a style popular among the wealthier members of the clergy as the blue of the sapphire was associated with the Virgin Mary. Estimated at £1500-2000, it sold at £3600.
Hansons
This medieval stirrupshaped gold ring set with a cabochon sapphire, offered by Hansons (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Etwall, Derbyshire, on November 29, had been discovered by a lucky metal detectorist in a field near Belper in the same county.