From Sacred to Profane: Style Drift in the Decoration of Jesuit Finger Rings

From Sacred to Profane: Style Drift in the Decoration of Jesuit Finger Rings

Engraved designs on French Jesuit finger rings from 14 historic sites of the Great Lakes area and the Mississippi Valley were examined. The wide variety of decorative motifs appearing on these rings is attributed to a stylistic drift occurring over a period of 60 yr. An estimated 95% of Jesuit ring...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American antiquity Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 202 - 210
Main Author: Cleland, Charles E.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York, US Cambridge University Press 01-04-1972
Society for American Archaeology
Subjects:
Archaeological sites
Arithmetic progressions
Crosses
Design
Design elements
Engraving
Finger rings
Historic properties
Historical archaeology
Society of Jesus
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Description
Summary:Engraved designs on French Jesuit finger rings from 14 historic sites of the Great Lakes area and the Mississippi Valley were examined. The wide variety of decorative motifs appearing on these rings is attributed to a stylistic drift occurring over a period of 60 yr. An estimated 95% of Jesuit ring designs from this area are traced to 3 prototypes. This paper demonstrates that rings with cast designs on round or oval bezels date between 1624 and 1700, while those with designs engraved on octagonal or heart-shaped bezels were current between 1700 and 1780. The process of stylistic drift and some of the variables conditioning the rate of style drift are considered.
ISSN:0002-7316
2325-5064
DOI:10.2307/278206