SOLD Antique Basque Rosary Ring, Solid Silver, Hallmarked, Beautiful Condition, Completely Hand Made, Late 19th Century, 5.5x4 cm, 11.4 grams

Antique Basque Rosary Ring, Solid Silver, Hallmarked, Beautiful Condition, Completely Hand Made, Late 19th Century, 5.5x4 cm, 11.4 grams Circa 1860

This is a beautiful and rare example of a Basque Rosary Ring which has been made as a pendant and it is in wonderful condition.

It has ten silver prayer beads and so is called a 'dizaine' in the local area. It measures 5.5 cm in length and with the bail is 6 cm long. It weighs 11.4 g and . This lovely pendant has the crab hallmark which is the French guarantee of solid silver on small items.

The history of these Basque rings dates back to the 1500s and originates from the Basque country which is the region between Southwestern France and North Eastern Spain in the Pyrenees Mountains. A quarter of the people who live there still speak the Basque tongue.

Basque country is not far from where I live and many of the people who live in my village also speak a version of the Basque language.

The language (Euskara), itself seems to have a mysterious root of origin, possibly Spanish, while others say it is a language ‘unto its own’. But many agree that it is the 'oldest language in Europe'. Some of the oldest traces of Euskara are found in inscriptions in Aquitaine. These ancient root words consist mostly of the names of persons and divinity, which are easily recognizable given modern Basque: An example would be Andere 'woman, lady', and Nescato 'maiden'. These are confirmed by adjectives and suffixes that they are part of the first written traces of Euskara, dating from the first centuries after Christ. More recently possibly because of the local apparitions, the term now reflects 'Our Lady'

Basque (Euskara) is the language or local dialect that Bernadette of Lourdes spoke and understood. It is also the language Mary spoke to Bernadette and the language Bernadette shared Our Lady's message in.