Ivory model of a skull and snake, Europe, undated
- Made:
- undated in Europe
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LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseIvory 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
