Antique 1800s Georgian 10K and enamel mourning urn ring with engraving

A remarkable Georgian mourning ring dedicated to Katherine Whitby, a woman who died in 1803 at the age of 72 years old. The ring has the clean and simple contours of 18th century mourning rings and features a beautiful enamel urn. A personal engraving for Katherine is visible on the underside of the ring face. Outstanding condition. 

We know that Katherine belonged to a prominent and wealthy family in England, as mourning rings of this quality were not within reach of most people in the early 1800s. Katherine lived all but three years of her life in the 18th century. She was born during the reign of George II in 1731. She was married in 1752 to Richard Whitby, Esq. - still over a decade before the American Revolutionary war. Katherine and Richard had eleven children together. Several members of the Whitby family are buried at the family vault at Derby Cathedral, Derbyshire, including Katherine. 

Her ring features a beautiful urn in white enamel against a black background. A white enamel trim surrounds this pretty inset. The urn is a mourning symbol that we see across many eras, from the somber Memento Mori jewelry of the early 1700s to the romantic, Neoclassical memorial jewelry of the late 1800s. Katherine's ring is somewhere right in the middle. Beautiful condition.

Measurements: Size 8 US, 2.3 grams
Era: Georgian Era, 1803
Markings: No hallmarks, perhaps sized out at some point. Certainly English, tests for 10K gold