“Serpent in the Tree” Ring
The “serpent in the Tree” ring is actually a symbolist “intaglio” monogram “cut to seal” as a stationary die. The ring is a reproduction of an antique signet in my collection, produced in 14k yellow gold, given by the woman who commissioned the monogram on the ring to her husband as a wedding ring.
The symbols are the Tree (the letter k engraved backwards) and the Serpent (the letter S engraved backwards) representing his initials, while elements of the design (# of plates on the serpents chest, and the 4 round scales on his back) represents two of the numbers of the anniversary of their meeting. The third # of that occasion is hidden in the wax impression the image makes when pressed into stationary wax. Of the 4 round disks on the serpents back, one is a ruby, (lapped free hand on a diamond platen, .032 in diameter which becomes a depression when the seal is produced, creating three raised balls with the one depressed ball, a sequence of binary code (as I was told) that he works with, which represents the third # of the anniversary.
The surface of the engraving is on a flat “table” that measures 11×14 mm or so and the ring was size ten.