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Lot 24 - Auction 261

Japanese elephant ivory Vanitas with skull - Meiji period, 1868-1912
Estimate:
4.000,00/6.000,00 €
Starting price:
2.000,00 EUR
Current bid:
2.000,00 EUR
Bids:
1

Bids

Lot status:
Auction closed

Description

Japanese elephant ivory Vanitas with skull - Meiji period, 1868-1912

elephant ivory ""Memento Mori"" (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797 o Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) finely carved in the full round and depicting a skull. 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 Chamber of Wonders (Wunderkammer), but also acted as contemplative reminders of mortality.


Height x width x depth: 10.8 x 12.3 x 10.5 cm. Weight: 1110 g.


Item condition grading: **** good.


Accompanied by Ce.S.Ar. Centro Studi Archeometrici certificate of authenticity and by CITES certificate.

This lot is available for sale only with shipments within the European Union; the CITES certificate for export outside the European Community can only be requested for lots sold to museums.

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