Memento Mori chain seal, Saint Petrsburg, Russia, second half of 19th century.

Fruit wood sculpture, Folk Art, depicting a man standing with his hands in his pockets. United States, second half of the 19th century.

A rare decorative fruit basket made of wax. The elegant wicker basket contains an arrangement of colored wax fruit. The branches and leaves are made of wire, paper and colored fabric...

Memento Mori for Wunderkammer, depicting a skull and a tulip, oil paintings on hard stone. A large specimen of oval-shaped natural agate, with a black wooden frame, is mounted on a b...

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...

Walking stick: ivory carved handle, depicting a Memento Mori, a hand holding a skull. Malacca wood shaft. Silver ring. Horne ferrule. Germany circa 1860. (SHIP TO EU ONLY)

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...

Pair of torch-holding sculptures depicting two Venetian Moors, one female figure and the other male. In a mirrored position of slight advancement, they hold a tray in one hand while ...

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

Masterfully carved Italian Vanitas / Memento Mori bust in solid marble from late 19th century. White Carrara marble skull combined with masterfully...

Masterfully carved & most impressive Italian Vanitas bust in solid marble from late 19th century. White Carrara marble skull combined with a Belgian Bla...

Italian Memento Mori skull Marble North of Italy, 17th century H 9 x L 7 x P 14 cm At the turn of the 16th century, they were the height of fashi...

Scipione Tadolini was a skilled sculptor whose broad talent covered the neoclassic to the romantic movements. His ancestors from a dynasty of Roman sculptors exerted a profound and lasting influence on the artistic production of the Eternal City. The Greek Slave fully demonstrates his masterly talent and serves as a reminder of antique models and the orientalist influences characterising the second half of the 19th century. Scipione Tadolini graduated from the Roman Academy and worked with his father on a series of celebrated portraits and ecclesiastical sculptures for Roman churches including a bust of Cardinal Giuseppe Alberghini for the Gesù (1847) and portraits of various members of the Cini family for the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle (1844, 1846). Tadolini is also known as the author of a number of large-scale monuments for patrons around the world including an equestrian group of Simon Bolivar for the city of Lima, Peru. One of his best known sculptures is The Greek Slave which appears in his work from the late 1850s forward.The Greek Slave was created in several sizes in two variations: with the figure’s hand either raised to her chest or to her chin. The small number of versions all indicate the sculptor’s careful attention to the human form and passion with exoticism, which can be noticed through the tumbling folds of the present figure's headdress and the finely articulated jewellery...