9th March. Great trip to the Ashmolean with some of my 'silver' (as in metal, not hair) group to be given a talk, in particular on the collection of rings (some 800 were given by C. D. E. Fortnum in 1897) and some posy rings from Dame Joan Evans. I hasten to add not all were on display! We also discussed a Malcolm Appleby bowl, which had been engraved with swan heads and necks, and a Michael Lloyd oak and apple vase in embossed and chased silver. The ring display was amazing, and we were taken into an 'inner sanctum' to put on rubber gloves - not for washing up, but so that we could handle some of the priceless rings - and were told about how the design of rings evolved over the centuries. It was so interesting I recommend a visit online to the Ashmolean site if you are unable to visit the museum in person.
