Posted 10 years ago
rpelrod
(1 item)
Hi i found this I believe its copper or brass ring that was in a box of items he brought back from i think WWII i think its a Dragon On it the face is the front and the body goes down both sides if you look close there's a stamp inside the band very small with either Japanese or that type of lettering i included a pic of the stamp if any one knows where it comes from please let me know i know it is very old and my father passed and i had to clean out his house and he would have been the only one that would know about it so any info would be great and if you want a better pic of the stamp inside let me know and ill provide thanks oh also on the under side of the ring the band is not solid but overlaps i guess to be adjustable it seems like it might be handmade not sure please let me know
Nice souvenir ring. The ring looks to be Chinese (Dragon/ and Chinese writing).
What service branch was your grandfather in? What years? Do you know if he served in the CBI theater (China Burma India)?
scott
Is it possible that the face of the ring represents a small cluster of islands? It looks pretty cool.
I think it is earier than WW11--way earlier. I believe this to be a ring that was used as a wax seal to officiate a document or seal a letter. The pattern would tranfer to paper after dipped in colored wax and applied with a slight roll to paper. Good catch!!!. Probably Asian but you'll need to do research. Good Luck.
I'm on my primary pc now, with a better monitor, but that stamp is maddeningly just barely illegible.
Based on other old rings, I'd maybe say this is a sweetheart ring from a specific area depicted by the apparent map on the face and the Japanese/Chinese in the band may be a sentiment or a maker's mark.
The adjustable band pushes me in towards inexpensive remember me gift and away from use as a seal. I think a seal/signet would have a better band as it wouldn't be a souvenir-ish item.
The face of your ring is not a map, but a stylised Qilin face:
https://www.igavelauctions.com/tag/qilin/
The Qilin face can be seen more clearly if you turn your pic#1 clockwise.
Surely not a seal, as you said it is not suitable with adjustable band :-)
Oldandsilly (sure of that???) has the last word on your mystery!
Hurrah for CW solvers :-))
I love hearing answers about strange items :-)
Some of us are very imaginative, some have vast or specialised knowledge, and above all, we all love mystery solving :-D
I can't see it very well, but might that be a split from pressure and age from the elements and not actually"adjustable"? Just thinking.
For sure My sight hanpers me. What ring size does it register now? It is far from pretty, but close to intriguing. I wonder if you will ever find the the reality of it? But the search is sometimes more fun than the reality may be anyway. Carry on! And Best Wishes.
I have closed in on he last photo and can detect with a magnifying glass that is an intentionally made adjustment on the ring---so disregard my musings above.
the story says that six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body. The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch; the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan; the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe.
A king explains to them
All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all the features you mentioned
O&S--That is really an unusual sliding adjustment --when new it may have done a great job,( we don't see anything like that today, do we?) but I'm willing to bet it is frozen in time now and won't adjust... Wondering if it can move? The item looks ancient. Kinda CREEPS me out. Maybe Zack from Ghost Adventures can chime into the discussion. Ha Ha.. Well, we Irish (Merlin) are pretty well known for powerful curses--the maybe the curse is already here!! "The ring is shrouded in mystery forever" so sayeth the witch. FUN!! On that happy note, I think I will take my leave, gimme my broom, Pffft! She went!