Israel Museum in Jerusalem reunites rings Sigmund Freud used to bind students

A new exhibition in Jerusalem is for the first time bringing together signet rings Sigmund Freud had bestowed upon chosen disciples, initially as part of a secret psychoanalytical society. The six rings going on display at the Israel Museum in the “Freud of the Rings” exhibition opening July 20 illustrate his deep connection to mythology and archaeology. They also help illuminate the personality of the founding father of psychoanalysis, born in 1856 in present-day Czech Republic and who moved to Vienna aged four. The exhibition was conceived when Morag Wilhelm, a young assistant curator at the museum, came across a gold signet ring in a small cardboard box with the words “Freud Nike”, the latter being the Greek goddess of victory. The ring’s provenance grabbed her attention, and Wilhelm learned it was given by Freud to a student of his, Eva Rosenfeld, who later donated it to the museum.