signet Rings in Traditional Highland Attire.

[MacLowlife]

I guess that by the time his head makes it onto a ring, any beastie is heraldic, though, of course, some are entirely heraldic, such as the Gryphon/ griffon/ griffin. I have long wondered how we can distinguish between the head of an eagle and the head of a griffon (which has the head of an eagle) if all we see is the head.

I actually wandered through all 500 of those intaglio ring listings last night. Many of them are engraved in Arabic script. Several more depict heads of soldiers, either generic ones or specific ones I couldn't identify ( Zeus?, Mars?). Some depict Mercury and some few depict historical figures ( Aristotle, John Milton). A number of them depict entire animals in a way that doesn't necessarily evoke heraldry, like running dear. You can also find many fob seals of the kind MoR refers to.

I have some very old writing paper with a boar on it, which I assume to be the crest of some ancestor. That leads me to reconsider what I said (or ask for help) on the topic of crests on rings... Some crests are entire animals (my ancestral boar) while others are heads (eagles, bears, dragons, unicorns). I expect the dead giveaway for a head would be the presence of a torse or wreath, while the whole animal might be heraldic or might be some football mascot...

Does anyone else know more than I do? I suspect it is impossible to know much less. Sorry for the derailing. I know we are verging towards another forum,so I will close by saying Traditional Highland Dress. There, that should help.

[Bugbear]

If no one answers, I'll try to cook up another thread for you, to be posted elsewhere, MackLowlife.