nose-ring (n.)

"circular ornament worn in the septum of the nose," 1769 as something to ornament a person; 1778 as something to lead an animal by, from nose (n.) + ring (n.1).

This ornament has been worn in the from very ancient times, and is still in use among the primitive peoples of the Levant and in India and parts of Africa. In the Levant it is commonly through one of the wings of the nose; but the fashion of passing it through the septum is still found in India. [Century Dictionary, 1895]