Science Museum "Wax Vanitas"

Before the modern era, to be seriously ill was to enter a world of almost unimaginable pain, misery and often grotesque medical ignorance. The diseases were bad enough, but the treatments were often far worse. This terrifying era has been brought to life with a new online exhibition, courtesy of the Science Museum in London, in which more than 2,500 objects from medicine's dark past are on display. The Wax Vanitas was an educational work of art designed to remind us that human life is perilously short. This example shows a decaying human head, with a skull and worms feeding off the flesh. The other side shows the face during life. The idea was to hammer home the message that death comes all too soon to each and every one of us. This is similar to memento mori gravestones of the era depicting skulls, hourglasses and scythes. TheTamshee says: a little grotesque but fascinating in a strange way