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Prayer Bead in the Form of a Skull (First half of the 16th century,
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.)

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/objects?exhibitionId={49419ef4-95b9-4237-b6cb-4bb4ccdcc9f7}#!?page=0&offset=20&perPage=20