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Lot 36

AN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMERALD INSET SILVER AND SILVER-GILT KINETIC VANITAS POMANDER SKULL CANE
Vienna, circa 1841

8 December 2025, 15:00 EST
New York

US$3,000 - US$5,000

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AN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMERALD INSET SILVER AND SILVER-GILT KINETIC VANITAS POMANDER SKULL CANE

Vienna, circa 1841
The skull with a hinged crown revealing an interior reservoir for use as a pomander and a movable jaw and articulated bones protruding from the eye sockets resting on an hourglass, entwined with coiled silver snakes, on an ebony shaft with a metal ferrule.
height overall 34 3/4in (88.3cm); height of handle 2 1/2in (6.3cm); width 1 3/4in (4.5cm)

Footnotes

Pomander canes were used to carry clumps of aromatic spices (or pomanders) that enhanced the scent of the user and their immediate surroundings. Before indoor plumbing and daily baths, this was particularly useful in daily life.

Visual symbols of death are referred to as momento mori. United by common symbols such as skulls, skeletons, hourglasses, extinguished candles, and flowers, these serve to remind the viewer of their impending mortality and the fleetingness of life; as well as the hope that this reminder will encourage a virtuous life.

Provenance
Il Segno del Tempo, Milan;
Collection of Eddi Van Auken, California, purchased from the above September 2010.

Literature
Van Auken, Eddi. Masterpieces: The Eddi Van Auken Collection of Antiques Walking Sticks and Canes. Silvia Editrice, Milan, 2025, pages 142-143, number 104. (illustrated)

Condition reports are not provided in catalog descriptions. The absence of a condition report does not guarantee that the lot is in good condition or free from damage and wear. We encourage you to request a condition report and/or additional photos prior to bidding on any lot.

Additional information