Miniature Skeleton Bookmark

The Romans frequently linked banqueting and death images in literature and the visual arts. In Petronius' satirical novel, the Satyricon (A.D. 60s), Trimalchio, the crass, nouveau-riche host of a dinner party, brings out a tiny silver skeleton between courses. The frame has flexible joints, and after posing it on the table in various ways, Trimalchio recites a poem that life is short and should be enjoyed before becoming a skeleton like the one he displays. He declares: "Alas for us poor mortals. Thus, we shall all be after Hades takes us away. Therefore, let us live while it goes well with us."