Mourning Ring

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mourning jewelry—jewelry that commemorates the dead—was commonly commissioned by early American colonists upon the loss of friends or loved ones. On this ring gold letters highlighted by black enamel wrap around the band and spell out "CAT.D.PEYSTER: OB 8. DEC. 1733 AE 69." The band supports a bezel containing a coffin-shaped cut glass. A piece of human hair, most likely belonging to the deceased, is visible below. Another inscription is present on the inside of the band, and reads "ADP * obiit 2 Aug * 1728 AE 71." The two obituaries likely refer to Abraham and Catherine De Peyster, a prominent New Amsterdam couple. While mourning rings featuring 'memento mori' symbols, such as coffins, skeletons, or hourglasses, were popular through the mid-eighteenth century, eventually more euphemistic imagery, such as weeping willow trees and draped urns, became more standard iconographical motifs in mourning jewelry.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art