A Trip Through English History

Georgian memorial ring decorated with a rope and anchor, the symbol of the British Royal Navy. It is engraved "Edwd Alder Obt 18 June 1790 AEt 39". Obt is the abbreviation of the Latin obit for 'died' and AEt is the abbreviation of the Latin aetat for 'aged'. Made after 1790

The first recorded use of this symbol was by the Lord High Admiral of Scotland in 1402. The symbol was subsequently adopted by the English Navy which, after the union of Scotland and England, became the British Royal Navy.

The anchor which sits above plaited hair is decorated with deep blue enamel and the rope is set with seed pearls in a 15K gold setting.

Ivory carving of a skull and coiled snake with carnelian eyes.

Japan, Edo period, 1860

Ivory carving

of a skull and coiled snake with

carnelian eyes.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

Gold and Diamond Ring, English, 17th Century

From the National Museum of Scotland

never let anyone tell you that trawling through mediocre victorian poetry isn't worth it. we just happened upon an absolute BANGER of a worm poem. go read it or else 🪱🪱🪱

the reviews are in... glad everyone's enjoying song of the worm

[id: tumblr tags reading 'dude This Fucking Rules', 'holy fucking shit! that was legit so cool?', 'holy shit that is fucking metal', 'oh this fucks severely', 'yeah no this fucking SLAPS', 'yo this RULES']

Holy fucking shit this is one of the most incredible things I have ever read. I am dead serious. I PROMISE you that you want to read this, and you're going to immediately send it to all your weird friends who you also know will love it.

An unusual Georgian-era pendant with imagery associated with mourning, however the images are composed entirely of micro-calligraphy text recalling the dates of death, and biblical verses. Extremely rare. Images on both sides. The case is gold filled.

(eriebasin.com)

Pirate earrings, England 18th century - Unfortunately not, these are Memento Mori ( Remember that you will die) earrings, England 18th century

Coffin shaped snuff boxes and 18th C death certs and funeral cards on display at The Funeral Museum- London

i struggle to find the imagery of the danse macabre anything but joyful if i'm being honest. like darling, we're all on a one-way trip from womb to tomb anyway. we might as well dance along the way.

come on. take my hand and come dance with us. have some fun with it.

Dating from the 15th C, Death  wields a sickle and  dances, in turn, before a cardinal, a king, an emperor and a pope. This was a common medieval theme, emphasising the irrelevance of rank and power in the face of universal human mortality- Hexham Abbey, UK 

This gold memento mori ring has a skull and crossbones -shaped bezel which opens to reveal a ruby. The eye sockets, nose and tips of the crossed bones are decorated with diamonds. Some white enamel clings to the skull. 17th cent #mementomori

A tiny skull can be seen inside the coffin-shaped bezel on this gold mourning ring. The enamelled hoop includes a book titled ‘memento mori’ The ring is inscribed for H. Maundrell who died 18 Oct 1722

A vaudeville performance based on the old English ballad “Death and the Lady.” Photographed by Joseph Hall, 1906.

went to an antique fair this weekend and i must now share with you the funniest possible thing some rando victorian could've put on a plate. i'd ask if you were prepared but it's simply not possible to prepare yourself for this

i serve mary elizabeth, the head honcho of the victorian pta, some fuckin. jellied eels off this plate and when she gets to the bottom and sees 'prepare to meet thy god' she starts screaming bc she understandably takes this as my confession to feeding her arsenic. PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD, motherfucker. this murder plate was £85. this is the plate a horror movie villain would serve their victims asbestos laced brownies off of. i love it sm

This ring features two hardworking skeletons who support a coffin containing a third skeleton. The lid is decorated with enamel and a partially-damaged red enamel cross. 17th cent (#britishmuseum) #mementomori #ring #skeleton

Gold and enamel memeto mori ring, English, circa 1600

from The Victoria & Albert Museum