Coral skull, Southern Italy, 18th century

Coral skull, Southern Italy, 18th century

Height x width x depth: 2.5 x 2.5 x 3 cm. Weight: 22 g.
"Memento Mori" Vanitas represented by a Red Mediterranean coral (Corallum Rubrum) skull carved in the round; in the upper side a ring.

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 Wonderland Room (Wunderkammer), but also acted as contemplative reminders of mortality.