A European Cast Silver Skull ‘Memento Mori’ (1600 to 1700 Europe)

cf Finch and Co catalogue no. 8, item no. 99, for a carved fruitwood skull

The skull invites the viewer to ‘remember me’. The most widespread personification of death in the world, the skull has been used as a symbol of the transience of human existence by artists, writers, philosophers and poets for centuries.

A European Cast Silver Skull ‘Memento Mori’
Perhaps from a reliquary
Mid 17th Century

Size: 2.5cm high, 2.5cm wide, 3cm deep – 1 ins high, 1 ins wide, 1¼ ins deep