The Famous Rings of Cheops and Joseph

When Egypt is mentioned, the Pyramids rise in their subimity--a sublimity made perfect by their vastness and mysterious age. We can fancy Abraham beholding them with awe, as, in the moonlight, they seemed to be awful and gigantic reflexes of his own tents looming into the heavens. We can imagine Alexander, rushing triumphantly on as the sun warmed and brightened their points; and Cambyses, within their shadow, horrifying the Egyptians by the destruction of their god Apis. We can hear, too, the modern destroyer, with the bombastic cry to his soldiers that, from the summits of those monuments, forty centuries looked down upon them: they must indeed have looked down upon those who came as locusts and were swept away like them! And as our minds enter, from the outward heat, into the cold chamber of the Pyramids, we observe Champollion, Wilkinson, Vyse and Lepsius unrolling ages with the unwinding of papyrus and illuminated bandage.

Let us, however, attempt to sink these mighty mountains of man's labor below the desert--upon which they now heavily press as though they were sealing the earth--and bring up, amid the vast desert and in their place, a single figure, bearing a signet-ring upon its finger. It is Suphis or Cheops, King of Memphis, who caused the Great Pyramid to be made for his monument. What a speck, for such a tomb! The monuments of man take up much space. Here was a whole nation employed to make one man's mausoleum. We fear that the virtues which live after men could often go within the compass of their finger-ring.

To every kingly order or decree connected with the foundation of the Great Pyramid or with the thousands of men who had to work or with the prodigious material employed, an impression of the signet-ring of Suphis had to be attached. Rings have been used for higher and holier things; but, never for so vast a human purpose.

Now, bring up, once more, (through the mind's enchantment,) the Pyramids, built upwards of two thousand years before the time of Christ, with all the busy centuries which have encircled them; and looking back, we can hardly think that this ring of Suphis, a circle which an inch square might hold--is undestroyed! And even if it be, we can scarcely believe that it is to be seen within the sweep of our own observation. The city of New-York holds the ring of Suphis. In the Egyptian collection formed by Dr. Abbott is this ring. And if exquisite work can add to its value, it has it in a high degree. Beautiful in execution;--there is something wonderful in its preservation; while a species of awe, seldom attaching to a small substance, seems to chill our nature and we are dumb while we look upon it.

Here is the most valuable antique ring in the world (see image). This ring alone ought to be sufficient to secure the collection to New-York for ever.

It may be well to copy a description of this relic as it appears in Dr. Abbott's Catalogue:

"This remarkable piece of antiquity is in the highest state of preservation, and was found at Ghizeh, in a tomb near that excavation of Colonel Vyse's called Campbell's tomb. It is of fine gold; and weighs nearly three sovereigns. The style of the hieroglyphics is in perfect accordance with those in the tombs about the Great Pyramid, and the hieroglyphics within the oval make the name of that Pharaoh of whom the pyramid was the tomb. The details are minutely accurate and beautifully executed. The heaven is engraved with stars: the fox or jackal has significant lines within its contour: the hatchets have their handles bound with thongs, as is usual in the sculptures; the volumes have the string which binds them hanging below the roll, differing in this respect from any example in sculptured or painted hieroglyphics. The determinative for country is studded with dots, representing the sand of the mountains at the margin of the valley of Egypt. The instrument, as in the larger hieroglyphics, has the tongue and semi-lunar mark of the sculptured examples; as is the case also with the heart-shaped vase. The name is surmounted with the globe and feathers, decorated in the usual manner; and the ring of the cartouch is engraved with marks representing a rope, never seen in the sculptures: and the only instance of a royal name similarly encircled is a porcelain example in this collection, inclosing the name of the father of Sesostris. The O in the name is placed as in the examples sculptured in the tombs, not in the axis of the cartouch. The chickens have their unfledged wings; the cerastes its horns, now only to be seen with the magnifying glass."

Probably the next most important ring is one believed to have been that which was given by Pharaoh to the patriarch Joseph (see image). Upon opening, in the winter of 1824, a tomb in the necropolis of Sakkara near Memphis, Arab workmen discovered a mummy, every limb of which was cased in solid gold; each finger had its particular envelope, inscribed with hieroglyphics: "So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." A golden scarabaeus or beetle was attached to the neck by a chain of the same metal; a signet-ring was also found, a pair of golden bracelets and other relics of value. The excavation had been made at the charge of the Swedish Consul; but the articles discovered became the prize of the laborers. By a liberal application of the cudgel, the scarabaeus with its chain, a fragment of the gold envelope and the bracelets were recovered. The bracelets are now in the Leyden Museum, and bear the same name as the ring. This signetring, however, which was not given up at the time, found its way to Cairo and was there purchased by the Earl of Ashburnham. That nobleman having put his collection of relics, with his baggage, on board a brig chartered in Alexandria for Smyrna, the vessel was plundered by Greek pirates, who sold their booty in the island of Syra. The signet in question fell thus into the hands of a Greek merchant, who kept it till about three years ago, when it was sold in Constantinople and purchased and brought finally to England. It is again in the possession of the Earl of Ashburnham. This signet has been assigned to the age of Thothmes III. The quantity and nature of the golden decorations existing in the tomb referred to indicate it as the sepulchre of one of the Pharaohs or of some highly distinguished officer of the royal household; and a calculation places the death of the patriarch Joseph in about the twentieth year of the reign of Thothmes III. The signet would be an excellent specimen of the antique of a kind called Tabat, still common in the country and which resemble, in all but the engraved name upon this signet, the ring placed by Pharaoh on Joseph's hand. The seal turns on a swivel, (and, so, has two tablets,) and, with the ring or circle of the signet, is of very pure and massive gold. The carving is very superior and also bold and sharp, which may be accounted for from the difficult oxydization of gold above all metals. In connection with this ring, it is necessary to remember what occurred when "Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand."--"And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah." The seal has the cartouch of Pharaoh. And one line upon it has been construed into Paaneah, the name bestowed by Pharaoh on Joseph. This signifies, in combination with "Zaphnath," either, the Revealer of Secrets, or, the Preserver of the World.