Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Prayer Bead in the Form of a Skull with the Temptation, and the Crucifixion
Not on view
The interior of this fruitwood carving resembles those of miniature boxwood prayer beads, but the exterior has been transformed into a skull, presenting death with all the intensity of boxwood miniature coffins. Related examples trace to sixteenth-century German owners. Perhaps these fruitwood beads were carved in German lands by an artist eager to have a share of the flourishing boxwood market established in the Netherlands.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.