Fire-gilded bronze skull

This fire-gilded bronze skull was made in the Southern Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century. The miniature skull, without the lower jaw, is executed in detail. On the skull, the seams between the skull plates are visible. The skull serves as a representation of the Latin motto 'memento mori': remember to die. It reminds people of their own mortality and coincides with the vanitas motif in art that focuses on the emptiness, temporariness and fleetingness of life. One of the most impressive expressions of the memento mori is the skull, the personification of death. It is both a warning and an object that calls for contemplation. This skull was probably intended for private use, like many vanitas objects.