15th century A.D. A gold flat-section annular band inscribed in black letter script '+ IE MY TIEN' for 'I Stand By Him', stylised flowers and sprigs between each word. Cf. The British Museum, museum number 1960,1103.1, for a similar ring; cf. Evans, J., English Posies and Posy Rings, Oxford, 1931, p.9, for similar inscription. 1.62 grams, 16.84 mm overall, 15.69 mm internal diameter (approximate size British H 1/2, USA 4, Europe 6.81, Japan 6) (5/8 in."). Acquired on the UK antiques market between 1974-1985. Albert Ward collection (part 3), Essex, UK. Apanied by an old handwritten title card. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is apanied by AIAD certificate no.11149-187367. According to Dr. Malcolm Jones, the inscription reads 'ie my tien', the tien is for 1st person singular present tense form of the verb tenir. In modern French, this would be written je m’y tiens, meaning “I stand by him/her/ it” (It’s a sort of medieval ‘Stand by your man’ inscription). The y of the inscription can mean ‘him’, ‘her’, or ‘it’, so we can’t be sure exactly what was intended by themissioner of the inscription. It could, for example, mean 'I stand by it' i.e. the vow I made, or simply 'I stand by him/her' i.e. my beloved. [No Reserve] [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions ]Condition Report: Very fine condition.