Wedding ring

During the late Middle Ages, there was a significant advancement in jewellery techniques. One of them was the gilding of silver products with an alloy of gold and mercury (amalgam). Other goldsmithing techniques used in the Middle Ages included filigree, granulation, enamelling, inlaying, marquetry and casting in clay or stone moulds. The jewellery made in silver, which the patricians and wealthy townspeople could afford, enjoyed great interest. A collection of silver gilded ornaments and Pomeranian silver coins was discovered in Szczecin in 1999 in the Oder district during archaeological rescue research. The treasure was hidden around 1420-1430 under the floor of one of the houses on Targ Rybny (the Fish Market) in a metal vessel on three legs, covered with a ceramic lid. The ring with traces of an engraved inscription and an isosceles cross is worth mentioning among the decorations. The cross as an evident Christian symbol was a motif often found on jewellery, ecclesiastical and secular.

Małgorzata Peszko