gems, jewelry, ancient jewelry, rings, glyptic, engraved gems

As one of the small group of Victorian collectors who recognized that rings, notwithstanding their small size, were as expressive of the culture of their time as monumental sculpture and architecture, C.D.E. Fortnum spent his adult life acquiring them. He purchased rings abroad, particularly in Rome, received them as gifts from other collectors and friends, and bought occasionally from the sale-rooms and dealers. Methodical and dedicated, he recorded each acquisition, researched it and published significant discoveries. The 800 rings given to the Ashmolean Museum are the most important collection in England, after those in the Victoria and Albert and British Museums (which are unrivalled internationally). They illustrate the development of rings from ancient Egypt to his own time, signets being particularly well represented. It says much for Fortnum's excellent judgement that his collection is almost free of forgeries.