Winged Skull

28.5 by 53cm., 11¼ by 20 7/8 in.\nWinged skulls and skeletons, symbolic of Death triumphant, feature in numerous Roman baroque tombs. Gian Lorenzo Bernini included winged skeletons in his monuments to Alessandro Valtini (circa 1641) and Ippolito Merenda (circa 1641), whilst a winged skull can be found on Pietro da Cortona's tomb of Fabio and Ippolito De Amicis (circa 1674). The present carving of a skull follows in this tradition and is likely to have once adorned a tomb. The use of giallo antic

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