Lot 43

A MEMENTO MORI

This rare white Carrara marble bust presents an allegory of the transience of the sovereign’s power. The sovereign’s head is replaced by a skull in armor and drapery. The motif of vanity was common in the late middle ages and early modern period, often through the dance of the dead (danse macabre); during the Baroque period, it was a principle allegory. The bust is held on a grey marble base.