Memento mori, or remember death, is a catchphrase that is firmly rooted in culture and is reflected in the art of different eras: works of painting, sculpture, and architecture. One such work was made in the first half of the 16th century in France or the Netherlands. This ivory pendant is extremely rare, as such compositions usually consist of two figures - here there are four.
On double-sided pendants you can see the image of a young man on one side and a skull on the other. In our case, as many as four figures stand with their backs to each other:
- young man in clothing typical of that time;
- dying person with his mouth wide open;
- someone with bulging eyes (presumably a demon with a face in the abdomen);
- death in the form of a skeleton with an hourglass in his right hand.
Each figure bears one inscription:
- AMOR M(un)DI – “love of peace”;
- VADO MORI – “I am preparing to die”;
- SEQUERE ME – “follow me”;
- EGO SUM – “I am.”
The phrase VADO MORI on the ribbon that is tied around the head of the dying man hints at the poetry about death that comes to every person: to the learned and the uneducated, to the young and the old, to the poor and the rich. The repeated couplets end with two words - VADO MORI.
The pendant was likely an addition to the rosary, a Catholic rosary used during prayers. The Rosary helps us focus our thoughts on the mysteries found in the New Testament. The four figures remind us of the transience of existence and the transition to another life.
Source: collections.vam.ac.uk
