Probably German, 18th or 19th century

Brussels, Musée de la Maison d'Erasme, Anatomie des Vanités, 2008;
Brussels, Jubelparkmuseum, Tussen Hemel en Hel. Sterven in de Middeleeuwen, 2010-2011, Cat. no. 163

A. Vanautgaerden (ed.), Anatomie des Vanités, exh. cat., Musée Maison d'Erasme, Brussels, 2008, p. 35

Overall, the condition of the ivory is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The ivory is mounted on a black marble slab. There are some fractures to the marble at the top left side, and some losses which have been filled. There is a small fissure to the ivory running through a scythe next to the papal tiara. There are some small chips to the edges of the skeleton's drapery. There is minor stable splitting, consistent with the material, including a few small splits to the ribcage and to and end of drapery on the end of the left side, and one between the drapery and the clock tower. The tip of one of the fingers of the proper left hand has been reattached. There are a few small nicks and scratches, including to the clock tower. There are a few small chips to the spinal cord and to the drapery on the left side. There are a few dirt marks to some of the high points. There appears to be a joint halfway down the stem of the big scythe. There is general wear to the modern velvet lined wood mount.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This finely carved and intriguing relief is near identical to three others: one in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. A.45-1953); another from the Dr Josiah Charles Trent Collection of Artifacts at Duke University History of Medicine artifacts collection (inv. no. homst52017); and a third in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (inv. no. 81/37) formerly in the collection of Conte Girolamo Possenti, Fabriano, sold at auction at R. Dura, Rome, in April 1880.

The composition may be at least partly inspired by an engraving of a skeleton contemplating a skull from Andreas Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (On the Fabric of the human body in seven books), Padua, 1543, p. 164. It represents a skeleton in thought, leaning upon a pillar with a sundial to the exterior and cogs to the interior. At the skeleton's feet are symbols of vanity: a papal tiara and a knight's helmet. Trusted has catalogued the V&A example as Italian, possibly Milan, circa 1850-70, though the pejorative context of the papal tiara may indicate an origin in a Northern protestant country. The V&A example was considered to be German, 17th-century, when bequeathed to the museum by Hildburgh in 1953.

After Trusted's publication in 2013, Charles Avery found an 18th century reference to an apparently identical ivory relief of a skeleton in the sale of the collection of Dr. Richard Mead (1673-1754), a physician and collector (Avery, op. cit.). The relief, which clearly existed before Mead's death in 1754, was likely from the Dürer revival period or later 17th century when, as Avery notes, Mead was travelling in northern Europe and Italy.

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Theuerkauff, Die Bildwerke in Elfenbein des 16.-19. Jahrhunderts, cat. Staatliche Museen Preussicher Kulturbesitz, Berlin, 1986, pp. 340-341, n. 26; M. Trusted, Baroque and Later Ivories, cat., Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2013, p. 457, no. 506; C. Avery, 'An ivory ajouré relief of a Skeleton given a new terminus ante quem of 1754' in  J. Kappel et. al. (eds.), Leidenschaft für Elfenbein..., Munich, 2015, pp. 54 and 55