When it comes to jewellery with a ghostly twist, nothing quite beats Memento Mori. The very phrase itself is Latin for “Remember you must die”. Sounds like something whispered in a haunted crypt. And yet, far from being just a creepy Halloween sentiment, Memento Mori jewellery was once an incredibly fashionable and deeply meaningful accessory.
Let’s unearth the fascinating, macabre history of this spooktacular adornment.
Gold and enamel memento mori ring inscribed 'BE HOLD THE ENDE' and 'RATHER DEATH THAN FALS FAYTH'. England, about 1550-1600, Source - The Victoria and Albert Museum
What Is Memento Mori Jewellery?
Imagine rings, pendants, and lockets etched with tiny skulls, coffins, skeletons, and cryptic moral messages. Sounds like something you’d buy in a gothic boutique today, right? But in fact, this style dates all the way back to the 14th century.
Enamelled gold memento mori pendant in the form of a coffin, with cross bones on the suspension chains and a skull pendant, made in Germany, about 1660, Source - The Victoria and Albert Museum
Memento Mori jewellery was never designed just to look eerie, it served as a powerful reminder of the inevitability of death. For us modern mortals, that might feel morbid. But in medieval Europe, where plague, famine, and war lurked around every corner, death wasn’t a rare tragedy, it was a fact of everyday life.
And with an average life expectancy of about 33 years, well… people needed no reminder that time was short. Still, they chose to wear death on their fingers, literally!
A Fashionable Reminder of Mortality
The earliest Memento Mori jewels were often rings, sometimes left in wills for friends and family. Imagine inheriting a shiny new ring with a skull and an inscription reminding you that you too will die. Talk about a keepsake with bite!
Enamelled gold mourning ring, the hexagonal bezel enamelled with a skull and the inscription + NOSSE TE. YPSUM (Know yourself) and 'Dye to lyve' with volutes and foliated shoulders enamelled in black, England, about 1550-1600. Source - Victoria and Albert Museum
By the 17th century, things got even more elaborate. Mourning jewellery and Memento Mori began to merge. Locks of hair from the departed were woven into rings, pendants, and brooches alongside coffins, initials, dates, and of course, skull motifs. Morbid? Perhaps. Romantic? Absolutely. A hauntingly beautiful way of keeping loved ones close.
In our collection - Antique '1828' Georgian 18ct Gold Jet Hair Mourning Ring.
Skulls, Clocks, and Creepy Crawlies
Memento Mori wasn’t limited to jewellery. The symbolism bled into architecture, paintings, manuscripts, and even household décor. Popular imagery included: Skulls, hourglasses, clocks, worms, graves, angels, bats and wilted flowers.
Oil painting, 'Flowers in a Glass Vase', Jacob van Walscapelle, 1667, Source - The Victoria & Albert Museum
The butterflies may be metaphors for the resurrected soul of the devout Christian, while the fast-fading flowers may represent a vanitas (memento mori) aspect." - A description from The Victoria and Albert Museum.
One of the most famous examples in art is Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors (1533), where an unexpected addition of a distorted, white, smeary shape, stretches incongruously across the bottom of the painting between the mens’ feet, suggesting that there is more to the painting. This reveals itself to be a skull, but only when viewed from close to the right of the painting. The skull is a ‘momento mori’ from the latin for a reminder that one must die.
Painting - Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve ('The Ambassadors') - Source - The National Gallery
Memento Mori Around the World
While we usually think of Memento Mori as a European trend, reminders of mortality are universal.
In Mexico, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) transforms skulls into bright, joyful symbols of remembrance. Skulls made of sugar, dazzling marigold altars, and offerings to the dead celebrate life and death hand-in-hand.
In Ancient Egypt, scarab amulets served a similar purpose. The scarab symbolised rebirth and immortality. The “heart scarab,” placed inside a mummy’s wrappings, was thought to help guide the soul into the afterlife.
Scarabs were also worn as protective jewellery reminders that death was just another stage in the eternal cycle.
Ring, gold with a revolving oval bezel set with a lapis-lazuli scarab, Egypt, likely New Kingdom, Source - The Victoria and Albert Museum
The Most Gothic Jewellery for the Spookiest Season
Unlike Victorian mourning jewellery, which leaned heavily into sentimental black jet stones and locks of hair, Memento Mori was unapologetically bold and gothic. Each piece whispered (or screamed) the same message: life is short, live well, and remember you can’t take your riches with you.
So whether you’re wearing a skull-adorned ring, lighting candles for loved ones, or just decking yourself in bat-themed earrings this Halloween, you’re participating in a centuries-old tradition.
We hope you enjoyed this eerie little trip into the history of Memento Mori! If you’d like help finding a piece of hauntingly beautiful jewellery for your collection, don’t hesitate to reach out and we’ll help you summon the perfect treasure.
