"Memento Mori", German ivory skeleton - 18th century

"Memento Mori", elephant ivory Vanitas (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797 o Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) carving depicting a skeleton placed on a marble plinth.
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.
Total height 26 cm, skeleton height 18 cm, base diameter 8 cm. Total weight 791 g, sculpture weight 47.5 g.
Item condition grading: **** good (small lack on the upper edge of the base).
Accompanied 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.