Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Pendant with a Monk and Death
(Baroque Europe )
Surely intended for the use of a monk, this pendant represents a head divided to depict a monk on one half, and a skull on the other, making explicit the user's own mortality and the certainty of death. The carver conveys the reality of impending death in the monk's eyes rolling into his head, his parted lips, and his pallor, which is suggested by the natural color of ivory. Given the attachment for metal loops on the top of the head and at the base of the skull, it is most likely that this head was part of a string of beads
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2017 | The Ivory Mirror: Death and Selfhood in Renaissance Art. Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick. |
| 2013 | Living by the Book: Monks, Nuns, and Their Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1971-1972 | World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Belgium
(Place of Origin)
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 2 3/4 × W: 1 13/16 × D: 2 in. (7 × 4.6 × 5.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
71.461