Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe, undated

Made:
undated in Europe
Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent

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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 

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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 

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

License

Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ivory model of a skull, mandible absent, with snake coiled around the top

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.

Details

Category:
Anatomy & Pathology
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A641323
Materials:
ivory
Measurements:
overall: 27 mm x 23 mm x 29 mm, .011 kg
type:
skull
credit:
Glendining