Masterfully carved Italian Vanitas / Memento Mori bust in solid marble from late 19th century. White Carrara marble skull combined with masterfully carved hood & robes all from one piece of solid Carrara marble Very large and impressive piece , one of this size & with this scene is most rare. The attention of detail in folds of the cloth and the skulls features are breathtaking. Making it almost look like a real piece of cloth , while still being solid marble. The quality of craftsmanship is superb, but this sculpture also carries a beautiful & strong message. During Middle Ages Memento Mori was a medieval theory and practice of reflection on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits with a hopeful approach to a glorious afterlife. During the Italian and European Renaissance the approach to the theme of vanitas changes, artists want to communicate to enjoy life with its earthly pleasures as everything is fleeting. The Vanitas movement had its maximum expression in Holland during 17th-18th centuries. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) gave rise to a period of starvation and the art related to the Vanitas theme conveyed this sense of insecurity, later during 18th century Dutch artists used this theme in response to prosperity and attachment to world-pleasures and material goods. The concept of Vanitas can also be found in contemporary art among those artists who use their art for ethical purposes to denounce the way in which the human being is exploiting the world we are living and the way humans are depleting the resources of nature. In any case this concept brings a message of joy and hope. One interpretation could be linked to the hope of a life after death and the second in the urgency to enjoy the beauties that life offers us during our passage on earth. Not only a unique rare piece of art but also one that carries an important message.