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Antique 14K Latin "Nil Admirari" lapis lazuli custom signet ring

Calling all stoics! A Victorian-Era coat of arms intaglio that reads in Latin, NIL ADMIRARI - "be surprised at nothing" or "let nothing astonish you." The motto and imagery is carved in lapis lazuli and set in a 14K custom signet ring. This signet was made for the Fitzgibbon's of Ireland, a family that held the title of the "Earls of Clare," a Peerage of Ireland. The last holder - Richard Hobart Fitzgibbon - died in 1864. I believe that this seal dates to his era, the mid-1800s (see a family stamp in the second to last photo).

The seal shows a walking boar (boar "passant") with one foreleg raised and three annulets or rings on its body. It has a bristled back and tusks. The Latin phrase is etched below. This phrase first appeared in English use in the 1600s, but its origin is Roman, from the poet Horace in the year 20 BCE:

"Nil admirari prope res est una..quae possit facere et servare beatum," or "to wonder at nothing is just about the only way a man can become contented and remain so" (Horace Epistles 1. 6. 1) 

I acquired this seal loose over a decade ago and had it set as a ring. 

Measurements: Size 5 1/2 US, 5 grams
Era: Seal ca. 1840s,, mounting modern
Markings: 14K and jeweler's marks

$3,500.00
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