Mourning Child with hour glass
Statuette
1700-1720 (made)
1700-1720 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This statue of a child holding a skull was made to be placed on a tomb, and to serve as a memento mori (reminder of death). This piece and its pendant, thought to represent a boy and girl respectively, were probably designed to flank the sculpted portrait of the deceased.
Materials & Making
Tombs in Britain in the 17th and 18th century were often carved from marble, or occasionally alabaster. Marble was imported, generally from Italy via The Netherlands. It was considered an appropriate material for funerary monuments, partly because of the associations with ancient Roman sculpture, and because of its supposed durability.
Subject Depicted
A long tradition of depicting symbols of death existed in west European art. The skull and the hourglass symbolised decay and the passing of time, while the sorrowing child was an allegory, albeit informal, of sorrow. Direct Christian imagery was avoided in British funerary sculpture after the Reformation, and allegory became more common.
This statue of a child holding a skull was made to be placed on a tomb, and to serve as a memento mori (reminder of death). This piece and its pendant, thought to represent a boy and girl respectively, were probably designed to flank the sculpted portrait of the deceased.
Materials & Making
Tombs in Britain in the 17th and 18th century were often carved from marble, or occasionally alabaster. Marble was imported, generally from Italy via The Netherlands. It was considered an appropriate material for funerary monuments, partly because of the associations with ancient Roman sculpture, and because of its supposed durability.
Subject Depicted
A long tradition of depicting symbols of death existed in west European art. The skull and the hourglass symbolised decay and the passing of time, while the sorrowing child was an allegory, albeit informal, of sorrow. Direct Christian imagery was avoided in British funerary sculpture after the Reformation, and allegory became more common.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Mourning Child with hour glass (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Marble |
| Brief description | Statuette, marble, Mourning Child with hour glass, anonymous, possibly by Edward Stanton or Thomas Stayner, England, ca. 1700-1720 |
| Physical description | Figure in marble. Seated mourning and holding an hour glass in his left hand. With his right he holds to his eye a corner of the drapery which covers his head and falls down over his left arm. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Carved in England by an unidentified maker. Purchased from Maurice Spero Esq, 23 Brook St, London in 1938, together with V&A Mus. No. A.62-1938 for £20. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type This statue of a child holding a skull was made to be placed on a tomb, and to serve as a memento mori (reminder of death). This piece and its pendant, thought to represent a boy and girl respectively, were probably designed to flank the sculpted portrait of the deceased. Materials & Making Tombs in Britain in the 17th and 18th century were often carved from marble, or occasionally alabaster. Marble was imported, generally from Italy via The Netherlands. It was considered an appropriate material for funerary monuments, partly because of the associations with ancient Roman sculpture, and because of its supposed durability. Subject Depicted A long tradition of depicting symbols of death existed in west European art. The skull and the hourglass symbolised decay and the passing of time, while the sorrowing child was an allegory, albeit informal, of sorrow. Direct Christian imagery was avoided in British funerary sculpture after the Reformation, and allegory became more common. |
| Associated object | A.62-1938 (Pair) |
| Bibliographic reference | Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V& A Publications, 2002. pp. 157. cat. no. 213 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.63-1938 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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