The serpent wound its way through 19th century jewelry as an amulet, talisman, good luck charm and symbol of enduring love.
This did not begin with Adam and Eve, but appeared in Pre-Christian religions and cultures.
There are very few creatures that have been embraced by both religion and art – most have fascinated mankind because of their impressive size or strength – snakes on the other hand, tend to be insignificant in appearance. Yet in the hierarchy of animals they have ranked so high that they have attained almost divine status. All sorts of human character traits have been imputed to them, ranging from wisdom and prudence to guile and deceitfulness. Snakes arouse powerful emotional responses from one person to another.
Ladies of the European nobility wore snakes as brooches, bracelets, necklaces and finger rings. By the beginning of the 19th century long snake collars were being worn. Queen Victoria was given a snake ring by her fiancé Albert to mark their engagement.
*Sketch of the Bell & Bird door knob, 2019
Anselm Feuerbach. Portait of a Roman Woman in white tunic and red cloak, 1862/66. Stadel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Inv. No. 21240
Karl Brullov, Portrait of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia with her daughter. St Petersburg, 1830. State Russian Museum, St Petersburg.
Bell and Bird No. 3931 ouroboros snake ring, one of our signature designs. The Ouroboros is a centuries-old symbol of eternity and wholeness. Completely hand fabricated in our custom color 18K old gold. Inspired by Victorian-era snake rings that have passed through our hands.
No castings or molds are used in production ensuring each snake is a unique one-of-a-kind piece. This example features a .84 carat pear-shaped old mine cut diamond. The diamond is GIA Certified, E color, VS2 clarity.
GIA Certificate number: #5231082999
Size 6.50, please email info@bellandbird.com for resizing inquiries.
Handmade in our Texas workshop, this ring is in our custom blend of 18K rose gold. A more subdued, darker tone than commercially available modern rose gold. We call this color "old gold" and created the alloy in the spirit of the many 19th century rings we have handled.
$14,200.00
19th Century diamond and spinel snake necklace from Bell & Bird archives.
María Félix, the legendary Mexican actress known as La Doña, commissioned a life-size, fully articulated snake necklace in 1968, which has since become an iconic piece in jewelry history.
