Miniature ivory skull in a silver case, Europe

Miniature ivory skull in a silver case, Europe, 1840-1920 Inside the silver cage is a roughly carved ivory skull without the lower jaw. The model was probably used as 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.

Medical Photographic Library