Historical Royals' Most Prized Artifacts

Queen Elizabeth I allegedly took this from her finger when she died in 1603.locket ringThe ring now rests in the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom's country house in Chequers. The ring features a mother-of-pearl body, a gold band set with rubies, and one pearl. Six diamonds form the letter "E" for Elizabeth, over an enamel "R" for "rex," meaning king or ruler.rexking or ruler

The ring's most interesting part is its locket. It holds two enamel portraits. One portrait is surely Queen Elizabeth (dated around 1575). The other portrait shows a woman in 1530s clothing, but she is unknown.

Some scholars suggest the woman might be Katherine Parr, Elizabeth's step-mother, or a younger Elizabeth. Others think it shows Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. Professor Susan Doran says...Professor Susan DoranUniversity of Oxford

I think Anne Boleyn is the most likely person. If it was a gift, showing Elizabeth with her mother makes sense. Elizabeth never spoke about her mother or wanted to deal with her, and people avoided the issue.

Monomakh's CrownThe "Golden Cap" dates to the 13th or 14th century. It is "the oldest Russian crown kept in the Kremlin." It crowned every Russian ruler from 1547 to 1721.

Vintage News states its name comes from a legend. It was given to the Grand Prince of Kyiv, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, by his grandfather, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomachus.

Considered "a symbol of the oldest continuous parliament in the world," the...Manx Sword of StateToday, the Manx Sword of State remains in use. It serves as a ceremonial part of the legislative body for the Isle of Man, not for fighting.

The sword's original owner might have been Olaf Godredson or Olaf the Black.Olaf the Blackwho became King of the Sudreys in 1226.

Considered one of the...last great kings of the Neo-Assyrian EmpireAshurbanipal expanded his kingdom into Babylonia, Persia, Syria, and Egypt. Ashurbanipal was cruel to enemies but popular with his people and supported the arts. He built a library at Nineveh holding over 30,000 clay tablets. This discovery is now one of history's greatest archaeological finds.

The "Rassam" cylinder was finished between 644 and 636 BC to commemorate the rebuilding of Ashurbanipal's palace.rebuilding of Ashurbanipal's palaceThe 10-sided clay prism in Nineveh, written in cuneiform, tells the ruler's story. It details nine military campaigns against foes. The British Museum reports this.British Museumit represents the most complete record of Ashurbanipal's annals.

Crafted in the 14th century, this solid gold cup shows the life and miracles of St. Agnes. The British Museum reports...British Museum,

This cup shows fine Medieval enameling on gold. It includes transparent red enamel, sometimes called "rouge clair" or "ruby glass."

People highly valued this color. Medieval inventories often mention it.

Charles VI of France (r. 1380-1422) received the cup in 1391 while visiting Tourraine. The Duke of Bedford later bought it, and Tudor accounts mention it. The cup vanished for years before reappearing in 1883. The British Museum has held it since 1892.

PuabiPuabi ruled the Sumerian Meskalamdug dynasty. Her reign spanned about 2550 to 2400 BC. This seal andmany other artifactsThese artifacts were found in her tomb at Ur. Ur was a coastal city on the Persian Gulf; it is now inland in modern-day Iraq.

The seal is made of lapis lazuli. It features two banquet scenes. The British Museum says thatBritish MuseumThe Kingdom of Benin existed in medieval West Africa. These bronzes, many made of copper alloy, served as court decorations and honored ancestral kings and queen mothers.

The Kingdom of Benin existed in medieval West Africa. These bronzes, many copper alloy, served as court decorations and honored ancestral kings and queen mothers.

Great Britain looted these bronzes from Benin during its colonizing period in the late 19th century; many remain.The British Museum holds these bronzes today.As of 2021, the British Museum joined the Benin Dialogue Group, a museum association from several countries, to discuss returning some pieces to Nigeria.

In March 2021, theUniversity of Aberdeenbecame one of the first public places to return a Benin Bronze to Nigeria.

King NabonidusKing Nabonidus ruled Babylonia from 556 to 539 BC. The British Museum provides this information.The British MuseumThis clay cylinder records King Nabonidus's work restoring temples to the moon god at Harran and the sun god and goddess Anunitum at Sippar.

During this time, cuneiform clay cylinders served as a common way to record major events or deeds. Othercylinders of Nabonidushave also been found in the Middle East.

In the 1840s, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert both drew domestic scenes.They drew scenes of their family and pets.Sothebys states this. The Queen drew more often than the Prince.Sothebys,

The royal couple etched for about four years. The Queen produced sixty-two plates; the Prince made twenty-five. They etched at Windsor Castle, sometimes working together on the same plate. Some proof impressions were pulled from a small press there. Very few etchings were printed; the pastime served the royal couple's own amusement.

Two complete sets of the couple's etchings exist: a Royal Collection and a set given to the British Museum in 1926.This particular etchingThe image shows Queen Victoria's first child, Princess Royal Victoria, sitting in her nurse's lap and drinking from a bottle.

Not all these ornate glasses belonged to Saint Hedwig, a duchess of Silesia canonized in 1267. Still, they connect so closely to her story; people call them theHedwig BeakersLegend says if Hedwig drank water from one beaker, it turned into wine. Because of this, people treat the beakers as holy relics.

TheBritish MuseumThe British Museum reports 14 of these beakers survive whole. Three of those beakers connect directly to St. Hedwig. These existing beakers feature eagles, griffins, the tree of life, the moon and stars, and abstract designs. The original maker remains a subject of argument.debate, with possibilities spanning from Sicily to Novogrudok, Byzantium, and the Islamic world.

Nūr-ud-dīn Muhammad Salīm, known historically asEmperor Jahāngīr ("world seizer"), ruled India's Mughal Empire from 1605 to 1627 AD. We have little data on this specific hookah, but it shows jade work. The Mughals liked jade very much.

According toLive History India, Jahāngīr collected jade, and his court had luxurious jade items. This material came from Burma, Tibet, or parts of modern China. They used it for "storage containers, jewelry, utensils, weapons, and other martial accessories."