Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning "remember that you must die". Memento mori jewelry was popularly worn from the 16th century until the early 1800s as a constant visual reminder of the brevity of life and the call to virtue. This style of jewelry is most frequently seen featuring a skull, grave diggers' tools or the tempus fugit. In the 19th century, we see a decline in the popularity of memento mori in tandem with a rise in the production of mourning jewelry. While the sentiment behind mourning and memento mori is similar, it is not quite the same thing. Mourning jewelry is a tribute to the memory of an individual, while memento mori has more to do with concept of death and its inevitability. These later Georgian pinchbeck charms are known as the "Seven Stages of Man," they symbolize the phases of life from infancy to old age and evoke the spirit of memento mori jewelry. A very rare and unusual piece.
MATERIALS: pinchbeck, coral, glass, new 14k gold chain
AGE: c. 1820
CONDITION: Very good - half of the spectacles charm is missing
SIZE: charms measure about 1", 18" chain