The following photos are of a Ring that was offered for sale in Sydney, Australia. It is hallmarked London 1824 and has a maker’s mark for Charles Rawlings. It is inscribed:
Charles, Bishop of Cloyne Ob 9 Aug.t 1826
Selina Warburton Ob 12 Mar 1826
It is described as a handmade ring in 18-carat yellow gold with black enamel, glass and woven hair, size approximately 8 1/4 or Q, weight 7.5 grams.
The family of Charles, Bishop of Cloyne is contained in the Mongan clan. Selina was his youngest daughter, who died 2 months before him. Charles was the son of a blind harpist who renounced the Catholic faith and joined the protestant Church of Ireland. In 1792 he changed his name to Warburton to aid his advancement in the Church. He has been the subject of a number of articles, the most comprehensive being here.
The unresolved mystery is how the ring came to be in Australia. Charles had six children of his own, and he adopted at least three of his brother John’s children after John was killed in an accident. It is known that several of these children, or their descendants, subsequently emigrated to Australia so any of them could have inherited the ring.
The fact that the ring was made before Charles and Selina died raises the question of whether someone repurposed a ring they already owned, or did they buy it second hand for the purpose. In the former case the date of 1824, and the lock of hair could be relevant. Was it a christening ring? However if it was bought second hand, the date and hair are irrelevant.
