Fine Georgian mourning ring depicting the figure of Hope with her anchor as a cameo 'sulphide' on a ground of hairwork. c.1800.
Fluted shoulders and reeded shank. 
Cameo 2cms by 1.5cms.
Size 8.
 
Sulphides were popularized by Apsley Pellatt and James Tassie in the late c18th and early c19th called 'cameo incrustations'.
One of the Christian virtues,Hope was a popular theme in late c18th decorative art, in prints,ceramics, and jewellery, to safeguard against the perils of life at sea.
Hope was often seen on mourning rings leaning on her anchor,unusually here arm outstretched pointing heavenward and her drapery caught by the wind,the anchor holding her fast.