Period: 18th century

Dimensions: 6 x 3 x 3,5 cm

Weight: 39,7 gr

The pendant, dated to the last quarter of the 18th century, depicts a skull, carefully and realistically carved in red coral. This pendant belongs within the typology of the Memento Mori, symbolic objects that were intended to make the owner meditate on the transience of life, encouraging to live wisely and virtuously, without falling into the excesses of wealth, inviting instead to give value to time, the only good we can never possess and beyond our control. These objects, which invite to live a slow life conscious of the fugacity of time, were diffuse form medieval era and continued in Renaissance finding diffusion in painting with the so-called “Danze macabre” (lit. macabre dances), such as the frescoes in the Oratorio dei Disciplini of Clusone, Italy. The Memento Mori in question has arrived in excellent conservative condition and has a high level of sculptural quality that makes the image of the skull alive and effective.