Bookmark - Roman Miniature Skeleton

Bookmark - Roman Miniature Skeleton

Regular price $24.00
/
  • Carbon neutral
  • Secure payments
Shipping calculated at checkout.

Metal bookmark of a Roman miniature bronze skeleton in the collection of the Getty Villa Museum.

- Dimensions:1.14" W x 4.38" L (not including tassel)
- Metal electro-plated with non-tarnishing silver finish, giclee print, and a tassel cord
- Made in USA
- Item #: GBMSKLTN

Made of bronze, this 1st century Roman articulated skeleton in the collection of the Getty Museum features round eye sockets and a wide, grinning mouth with large upper teeth. Its arms now missing and only the upper part of one leg remaining, the skeleton, referred to by the Romans as larva convivalis, meaning banquet ghost, was once made to jump and dance and was a reminder of the brevity of human life, and necessity of profiting from the short time which remained. In Petronius’ satirical novel, The Satyricon (CE 60s), Trimalchio, the crass, nouveau-rich host of a dinner party, brings out a small skeleton between courses. With its flexible joints, Trimalchio poses the skeleton in various ways, and recites a poem to the affect that life is short and should be enjoyed before becoming a skeleton like the one on display. He declares “Alas for us poor mortals. Thus we shall be, after Hades takes us away. Therefore, let us live while it goes well with us.”

In total, there are ten similar skeletons that are known to exist, one in silver, one in wood, and the remaining in bronze. All of the skeletons have much in common stylistically. The unanatomical rendering of the bones, a feature shared by all the skeletons, reveals the artists’ and craftsperson’s lack of scientific accuracy. It was perhaps more important that the bony specters were lively; hence; their articulation and resulting fluid and dancing movements were emphasized.

Source Object:
Miniature Skeleton
Artist/Maker: Unknown
Culture: Roman
Date: 25 BCE–CE 100
Medium: Bronze
Object Number: 78.AB.307
Dimensions: 6.6 × 2 × 1 cm (2 5/8 × 13/16 × 3/8 in.)

Shipping costs are now calculated based on your package’s size, weight, and destination to keep pricing transparent and accurate. While our free shipping offer has retired, we’ve worked hard to keep rates as reasonable as possible.

International friends: any duties, taxes, or customs fees are set by your country and are your responsibility. We’ll handle the rest with care!

Certain product lines are shipped directly from the manufacturer and may incur additional shipping costs.

Our goal is to get your order to you quickly, safely, and at a fair rate. If something about your shipping total looks off, message us through chat — we’re happy to take a look and help!

Want to make sure you don't miss out on our most popular items? Pre-ordering is the perfect way to guarantee you get what you want! When you place a pre-order, that item is exclusively reserved for you and immediately taken off our regular inventory, avoiding the disappointment of it selling out. Secure your must-have items knowing they are set aside just for you.

While we strive to get your pre-orders to you as quickly as possible, please understand that production and shipping timelines are managed by our manufacturers, and we have limited control over these dates. This means pre-order items have estimated ship-by dates. Rest assured, we prioritize shipping pre-orders within 24 hours of receiving them at our warehouse.

For seasonal items, we aim to ship by the following target dates:

Valentine's Day: January 1st

St. Patrick's Day: January 30th

Easter/Spring: February 1st

Patriotic: March 1st

Summer: March 30th

Halloween: July 1st

Thanksgiving/Harvest: August 1st

Christmas: August 15th-September 15th (depending on the maker)

Be the first to get the latest and greatest with our pre-order program! For the most up-to-date information on a specific pre-order item or for more precise delivery information, our chat support team is happy to help!

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recently viewed