Dyed at Tauormina

An elegant, understated mourning ring dated 1774. The central compartment contains a tight weave of brown hair under crystal, within a surround of foiled amethysts. The reverse of the ring is engraved with the details of the deceased : SHOLTO CHARLES EARL OF MORTON AGED 41. The high carat gold hoop, on a black enamel ground, bears an inscription I have not seen before : Dyed at Tauormina in Sicily 25 Sept 1774. [The archaic spelling of died and Taromina both delightfully irreuglar]. The ring is size J [US 4 and 5/8]. Sholto was the 15th Earl of Morton and the Colonel of a regiment of Light Dragoons. According to correspondence from the time, with his wife and two young sons, the Earl moved to Naples in December 1773 as he ‘thought his lungs tender and that passing a winter at Naples would be of service’. The family toured to Sicily and it was there that the Earl died of a violent fever from a cold he caught on Mount Etna. He was only 41.

sold

Davison, Jeremiah : James Douglas (1702-1768), 14th Earl of Morton, and his family, Charles is on the right.

stained glass memorial window for the 15th Earl