Exceptional and Finely Carved German Ivory Vanitas
An Exceptional and Finely Carved German Ivory Vanitas
Of a partly decomposed human skull, a salamander and snake curling through the hair
Early 17th Century
Size: 4.5cm high, 7cm deep, 4.5cm wide – 1¾ ins high, 2¾ ins deep, 1¾ ins wide
Of a partly decomposed human skull, a salamander and snake curling through the hair
Early 17th Century
Size: 4.5cm high, 7cm deep, 4.5cm wide – 1¾ ins high, 2¾ ins deep, 1¾ ins wide
The macabre motif of the skull with attached tattered scraps of skin dangling from the face, invaded by vermin, with exposed muscles in a state of decomposition conveys the idea of transience and death memorably and terribly. The skull is a warning symbol and an object for meditation, ‘Memento Mori’.
Exceptional and Finely Carved German Ivory Vanitas
SOLD
