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L0058598 Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe
L0058598 Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe
Credit: Science Museum, London. Wellcome Images
images@wellcome.ac.uk
Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe, undated
Carved from ivory, this model shows a human skull with the lower jaw missing and a snake coiled around the top. Not much is known about what this object was used for although it may have been a memento mori – literally a reminder of death and the shortness of life. The skull was the symbol of death from the 1500s onwards. Previously death was represented as a skeleton accompanied by a living victim.
Undated Published: -
Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons by-nc-nd 2.0 UK, see wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/page/Prices.html
L0058598 Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe
L0058598 Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe
Credit: Science Museum, London. Wellcome Images
images@wellcome.ac.uk
Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe, undated
Carved from ivory, this model shows a human skull with the lower jaw missing and a snake coiled around the top. Not much is known about what this object was used for although it may have been a memento mori – literally a reminder of death and the shortness of life. The skull was the symbol of death from the 1500s onwards. Previously death was represented as a skeleton accompanied by a living victim.
Undated Published: -
Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons by-nc-nd 2.0 UK, see wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/page/Prices.html