Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck, Skull with case, c. 1650 - c. 1664. On loan from the Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 

Carved from boxwood and smaller than an apple, this 17th-century skull carries a timeless message: remember, you must die. Created by Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck as a standalone sculpture for private collections, it reflects the memento mori tradition: a reminder that earthly riches mean nothing after death. 

With its uncanny precision, likely based on a real human skull, the work was carved as plague swept through Amsterdam in 1663–1664, an epidemic that may have taken the artist’s own life.