Human skull ·  Europe, alpine · ID: 3037694

Description

painted with roses, a cross and the letters “GB”, min. dam.;
the practice of engraving and painting exhumed skulls spread throughout Europe from Brittany to the monasteries on Mt Athos. It is closely associated with the spread of charnel-houses, which originated at monasteries and were taken up by village communities. Well-known centres of this practice are the towns of Faistenau and Gilgenberg in Austria as well as Altötting, Wasserburg on the Inn and Utling in Bavaria.

The object Human skull with the object ID 3037694 was part of the auction 78th tribal art auction on October 18, 2014. The object with the lot number 57 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,000 with an asking price of EUR 800.

Comparing literature

Laue, Georg (Hg.), Memento mori, München 2002, p. 87