Human skull · Europe, Alpine · ID: 3043291
sold
EUR 1,200
Size
H: 14,5 cm
H: 5.7 inch
Description
greyish-white paint, painted with three crosses and the line “Katharina Bauer Inwohnerin von Schönau”, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion.
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.
Comparing literature
Wieczorek, Alfried (Hg.), Schädelkult, Mannheim 2011, p. 256