Memento mori ring, United Kingdom, 1692

Gold memento mori ring, set with a circular transparent stone which contains an image of a skull and cross bones, inscribed, 1692

‘Memento mori’ translates from Latin as ‘Remember you must die’. They were intended to remind people about the shortness of life and the inevitability of death.

This gold memento mori ring was made in 1692 in memory of a loved one. It bears the inscription, ‘MD died 6th of …1692’ on the inner circle of the ring and the image of a skull and crossbones set within a circular transparent stone. A skull commonly represented death from the 1500s onwards. It replaced the use of a skeleton.