![Finger ring made of red gold, carnelian, onyx and chrysoprase, around 1820.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ring_goethe-1-300x238.jpg)
Goethe’s Heart Throb for Young Miss Herzlieb
What does a poet do when his lyrical wooing falls on deaf ears? He presents his queen of hearts with a ring. Alas, this too did not change Wilhelmine Herzlieb’s mind. The rare jewel, however, survived.
![Johann Wolfgang von Goethe at the age of 80, painting by Karl Joseph Stieler, 1828.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/2017/04/goethe-249x300.jpg)
![Minchen Herzlieb, oil painting by Luise Seidler.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/2017/04/MinchenHerzliebsw-198x300.jpg)
![Finger ring made of red gold, carnelian, onyx and chrysoprase, around 1820.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ring-goethe-dig-40425_dep-11488-300x120.jpg)
What does a poet do when his lyrical wooing falls on deaf ears? He presents his queen of hearts with a ring. Alas, this too did not change Wilhelmine Herzlieb’s mind. The rare jewel, however, survived.