Bidspirit auction | German ivory Vanitas with skull

German ivory Vanitas with skull and the crucifixion of Christ - 16th-17th Century Memento Mori' Vanitas represented by an elephant ivory skull (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797 or Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) carved in full round with frogs, salamanders and worms; on the back side the crucifixion of Christ with God the Father, St Joseph and the Virgin. 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. Height x width x depth 5.5 x 5 x 3.9 cm. Weight 101.3 gr. Item condition grading: **** good (a fracture on the front side, losses). Accompanied by Ce.S.Ar. Centro Studi Archeometrici certificate of authenticity (pre-1947).