Over the summer /fall 09, the subject of the main display in the Museum of Italian Jewish Art in Jerusalem has been "The Jewish Wedding" with many items borrowed from other collections. I was commissioned to design replica Renaissance wedding rings. In my research, I discovered that some of these rings are very similar to those I created for my son's wedding last year. His set being in white gold, rather than traditional yellow gold.
Italian wedding rings in earlier times were the property of the synagogue. Due to anti-Jewish legislation, it was unwise for Jews to have overly valuable personal properties. The rings were lent to the bride for the time period of the week of the wedding and the meals of the seven benedictions. It was a "one size fits all" ring. These rings are actually quite large in diameter,.much larger than the normal finger. Usually, the wording "mazal tov" was inscribed either as part of the exterior design, or part of the interior,or in some cases, one finds simply the "meme" and "tet" abbreviations.
Should you or your friends be in need of innovative "replica" jewelry and Judaica, please keep me in mind... This is the second time I have been invited to be a participant within the special exhibitions of the Italian Jewish Museum of Jerusalem, and it is really an important stepping stone, as it is unusual for local artists to have their work shown there.