“The Old lie”

A black bull’s-eye agate carved with the words “Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori,”
set in gold, surrounded by a frame of old brilliant cut diamonds set in platinum.

English, Early 20th Century

The ‘bull’s eye’ agate has great symbolic significance in mourning jewellery. Popularized during the late Victorian period,
it lent itself to mourning jewellery as it is naturally black, the colour worn during a period of mourning. The bands of the agate
are also significant, as they were seen to represent the three cardinal virtues (Gere & Rudoe, 2010) and signify the virtuous character
of the deceased. In this example, the three bands are particularly clear in the stone. The agate also has a mystical association, to
protect the wearer from their fears. In the context of mourning jewellery, this is most apt, as it could be seen to indicate the
release from their fears that the deceased receives in death, and therefore acts as a comfort to the wearer.

The verse ‘Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori’, etched to the surface of the stone, is
first used in an ancient Roman poem by Horace, where he writes:

How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country:
Death pursues the man who flees.

The phrase was popularized during the First World War when it was widely used, in order to show the honor and courage of men
who die for their country. In a war which was seen by some as futile and wasteful, building and maintaining this belief was crucial.
The verse has however developed a greater resonance, since the publication of Wilfred Owen’s poem of the same name.
In his poem, the phrase was described by Owen “the old lie.”

£2500