Japanese elephant ivory Vanitas with skull - Meiji period, 1868-1912..., Wunderkammer...

elephant ivory "Memento Mori" carving (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797 o Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) finely carved in the full round and depicting a skull. 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 Wonderland Room (Wunderkammer), but also acted as contemplative reminders of mortality. Height x width x depth: 10.8 x 12.3 x 10.5 cm. Weight 1110 g. Item condition grading: **** good. Accompanied by Ce.S.Ar. Centro Studi Archeometrici certificate of authenticity and 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.