Objekt 24
Finger ring with initials "B M
Description
The ring has a legendary history: it is said to date back to a gift from Tsar Alexander I to a distinguished Basel citizen. When Tsar Alexander I (r. 1801-1825) was a guest at the Segerhof in Basel in 1814 in connection with the Allied march through the city, a personal relationship developed with the elderly landlady Dorothea Burckhardt-Merian (1744-1821). According to tradition, when he left the same year, he presented her with a rectangular brooch with a topaz (crystallizing mineral) set in its center. This brooch, so it is assumed today, was subsequently processed by the descendants to various pieces of jewelry, among others possibly to this ring.
Object description
probably Basel, beginning of 19th century
Gold, glass river, brilliant cut diamonds
Gift of Gertrud Preiswerk
Inv. 1950.491.