Pendant thumbnail 1
Pendant thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Pendant

ca. 1660 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Enamelled gold memento mori pendant in the form of a coffin, with cross bones on the suspension chains and a skull pendant. The coffin opens to disclose an enamelled skeleton, the initials I.C.S. above its head and the inscription 'HIE. LIEG. ICH. VND. WARTH. AVF. DIH' (Here I lie and wait for you, in German).


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Enamelled gold
Brief description
Enamelled gold memento mori pendant in the form of a coffin, with cross bones on the suspension chains and a skull pendant, made in Germany, about 1660
Physical description
Enamelled gold memento mori pendant in the form of a coffin, with cross bones on the suspension chains and a skull pendant. The coffin opens to disclose an enamelled skeleton, the initials I.C.S. above its head and the inscription 'HIE. LIEG. ICH. VND. WARTH. AVF. DIH' (Here I lie and wait for you, in German).
Dimensions
  • Height: 5.7cm
  • Width: 2.8cm
  • Depth: 1cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'HIE. LIEG. ICH. VND. WARTH. AVF. DIH' (inscription)
    Translation
    'Here I lie and wait for you'
  • 'I.C.S.' (initials above the skeleton's head)
Credit line
Given by Dame Joan Evans
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Somers-Cock, Anna, Princely Magnificence: court jewels of the Renaissance, 1500-1630, V&A, 1980, pp. 89-90, cat. 121
Collection
Accession number
M.74-1975

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Record createdAugust 3, 2005
Record URL
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