German elephant ivory Vanitas with skull - 18th... Lot n° 31

"Memento Mori", Vanitas represented by an elephant ivory skull (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797 or Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) carved in the full round. A vanitas is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. The skull was the symbol of death from the 1500s onwards; previously death was represented as a skeleton. Skulls were very popular in the Baroque period and were not only an essential part of any Chamber of Wonders (Wunderkammer), but also acted as contemplative reminders of mortality. Height x width x depth: 6 x 5 x 5.5 cm. Weight: 122 g. Item condition grading: **** good. Accompanied by CITES certificate. This lot is available for sale only with shipments within the European Union; the CITES certificate for export outside the European Community can only be requested for lots sold to museums.