Italian Memento Mori skull - 17th century

Cerberus Black painted stone Italy, 17th century Measures: 80 x 69 x 36cm (one head missing) Cerberus, cruel monster, fierce and strange, Through his wide threefold throat barks as a dog Over the multitude immers'd beneath. His eyes glare crimson, black his unctuous beard, His belly large, and claw'd the hands, with which He tears the spirits, flays them, and their limbs Piecemeal disparts (Dante, Inferno, Canto VI). Cerberus figure seated, in his role of ferocious guardian of the underworld; he shows a nervous musculature, an adherent skin which reveals the ribs, long and robust limbs; his heads are broad and the eyes set well apart. Painted in black to amplify his menacing look, the infernal guardian is depicted with his famous attributes, writhing his heads, growling and barking furiously. Cerberus, in Greek mythology, was the monstrous watchdog of the underworld – also known as the “hound of Hades” – preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left. A child of Typhon and Echidna, he was part of a monstrous family, which included Orthus, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Chimaera as well. Only on three occasions Cerberus was tricked by visitors of Hades: Heracles did it with his strength, Orpheus with his music. In "The Inferno", Dante places Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of Hell. With his three mouths, Dante saw Cerberus as a beast that was synonymous with the sin of Gluttony. Virgil gets past the monster by throwing mud in his three mouths, temporarily choking him. Very rare are the representations of Cerberus in ancient statuary...

Alabaster Golgotha Italy, 17th cenury Alabaster with traces of polychromy 16 x 10 x 9 cm The Golgotha (literally "Place of the Skull ») is a hill on the outskirts of the city o...

Marble lion white marble France, probably Périgord, 17th century Small marble lion wearing a coat of arms pendant with the engraved date, ...

The Adoration of the Magi. Panel carved in high relief. Flanders, 17th century. Measures: 53 x 32,5 cm.

A Captive Soldier Gilt Bronze, Lost Wax Italie (Rome), 17th century H 17 x Dia 10 cm H 6 2/3 x Dia 4 inch The 17th century witnessed a flourishing of artistic expression across Eur...

Large Terracotta relief of the flight into Egypt Lombardy, first half of 17th century Painted terracotta 91 x 85 x 11,5 cm This event in the early life of Christ is recounted i...

ABOUT Contact us for more shipping options. Free Bay Area delivery. S16 Home San Francisco. Exceptional large Memento Mori sculpture in polychrome depicting a half flayed Monk. German 17th century. The sculpture presents half of the skeletal face, hand and foot. Shown with life size model...

Antique 18th century fruitwood carved Memento Mori Skull. The skull of petrified display powerfully carved in the form of a human skull consisting of the cranium, upper and lower jaws, the cadaverous face with deliberate missing tooth in brown wash patination throughout. Stood upon a small marble base with the skull attaching via a dowel fitting. The Skull probably from German origin. Notes  From approximately the sixteenth century, skulls were commonly used to remember death as they symbolise the transience of human life. Memento Mori literal Latin translation means remember that you [have to] die. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity, and appeared in funeral art and architecture of the medieval period. Memento Mori jewellery...

A Memento Mori in wood with Chrismon, monogram of Christ. Valuable sculpture in fruit wood in almost true-to-life measurements, sculpted with art and finished with a wealth of details. The wood was covered with a thin layer of pellet and finished in color. Immediately above the forehead, in correspondence with the anterior neonatal fontanel, the CHRISMON is painted in purple red. The monogram of Christ or Chi Rho (or CHRISMON) is a combination of letters from the Greek alphabet, which form an abbreviation of the name of Christ. Solar in nature, often inscribed in a circle with multiple rays reminiscent of the cosmic wheel deriving from the ancient solar emblems of Egypt. The symbol consists of two large overlapping letters, the 'X' and the 'P'. They correspond, respectively, to the Greek letter '?' ('chi', which reads kh, aspirated) and '?' ('rho', which reads r). These two letters are the initials of the word '???st??' (Khristòs ), the name of Jesus, which in Greek means "anointed" and translates the Hebrew "messiah". On the sides of these two letters, there are very often two others: one 'a' and one '?', alpha and omega...

A Memento Mori from Wunderkammer, depicting a skull, plaster cast covered with butterfly wings, applied to the crown-shaped skull and to the mosaic-type wooden base. The year 1874 is...

Masterfully carved Italian Vanitas bust in solid marble from late 19th century. White Carrara marble skull combined with a red Rosso Imperiale marble Ro...

A fantastic and wonderfully hand carved piece. This smiling, mischievous skull is carved in very fine detail. Would be the crown jewel of any walking stick collection once attached t...