Mourning Child with hour glass

1700-1720 · Statuette · 43 × 30 cm

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Victoria and Albert Museum

London, Storbritannien

SalBritish Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery

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Kontrolleret: for 11 dage siden
Uændret siden: 25. sep. 2026
Kilde: Museets egne samlingsdata

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Om skulpturen

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

Læs videre

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.

Victoria and Albert Museum