Memento mori ring, 1850-1930

Made:
1850-1930 in Europe
Metal memento mori finger ring Metal memento mori finger ring Metal memento mori finger ring Metal memento mori finger ring

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Metal memento mori finger ring
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Metal memento mori finger ring
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Metal memento mori finger ring
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Metal memento mori finger ring
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Metal memento mori finger ring, each half of the band is in the form of an arched skeleton, there is a large skull wedged between their two heads

‘Memento mori’ translates from Latin as ‘Remember you must die’. This metal memento mori ring is in the form of two arched skeletons, with a large skull wedged between their two heads. Such rings were reminders of death. They prompted people about the shortness of life and the inevitability of death.

A skull was typically used to represent death from the 1500s onwards. It gradually replaced the common older image of a skeleton leading a living person off to their death.

Details

Category:
Wellcome (general)
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A641541
Materials:
metal
Measurements:
overall: 11 mm 24 mm, .007 kg
type:
ring - jewelry and memento mori