Ways to discover the collection

Memento mori

“Remember you must die!” – Since the outgoing Middle Ages, this warning was the subject of small artworks that often graphically confronted the viewer with death and decay. However, the hope for eternal life that is intrinsic to the Christian faith simultaneously transformed this reminder of the transience of life into a summons to live piously and thus secure the “treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven”.

Memento Mori, Paris, attributed to Chicart Bailly, c. 1520-1530, ivory, ebony, 12.5 x 42 cm, inv. B 160, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Memento Mori
Paris, c. 1520-1530

Two Boys Blowing Bubbles (Homo Bulla), Cologne, c. 1530, stained glass, 96 x 68 cm, Inv. No. M 572, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Two Boys Blowing Bubbles (Homo Bulla)
Cologne, c. 1530

Paternoster necklace, Mexico, c. 1580, hardwood skull beads with micro-carvings on hummingbird feathers, gilt silver with enamel, L. 39 cm, Inv. No. A 1059, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Paternoster necklace
Mexico, c. 1580

Danse Macabre (Dancing Death),  Germany, c. 1700,ivory, h. 13 cm, inv. B 151, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Danse Macabre
Germany, c. 1700

 

Sleeping Putto with Skull, Netherlands (?), 17th cent., ivory, 4.3 x 14 x 5.7 cm, inv. B 154, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Sleeping Putto with Skull
Netherlands (?), 17th cent.

Pulpit hourglass, Breinum near Hildesheim, late 17th cent., wood and green glass, filled with red sand, h. 42 cm, inv. A 1065, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Pulpit hourglass
Breinum near Hildesheim, late 17th cent.

Double-sided Rosary Bead (front), Germany (?), 17th cent., ivory with setting fragments, H. 3.8 cm, inv. B 129, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Double-sided Rosary Bead
(front)
Germany (?), 17th cent.

Double-sided Rosary Bead (back), Germany (?), 17th cent., ivory with setting fragments, h. 3.8 cm, inv.no. B 129, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Double-sided Rosary Bead
(back)
Germany (?), 17th cent.

Mourning Dalmatic, vestment fabric: silk damask, Spain, c. 1730, borders: embroidery with silk and gold-wrapped thread, end of the 16th cent., l. 135 cm, w. 150 cm, inv.no. P 235, © Museum Schnütgen, Photo: Thomas Zwillinger

Funerary Dalmatic
Spain, c. 1730

Wax Figurine Depicting Death on Silk in a Wooden Coffin, Southern Germany (?), 18th cent., 7.1 x 26.8 cm, inv. A 1053, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Wax Figurine Depicting Death on Silk in a Wooden Coffin
Southern Germany (?), 18th cent.

Death as the Grim Reaper, South Germany (?), 18th cent., wood, h. 23.6 cm, inv. A 995, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Death as the Grim Reaper
South Germany (?), 18th cent.

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