Using the finest carving technique and embedded in a lavishly decorated casket made from ivory and ebony, the ivory “Tödlein” (little death) conveys its frightening message: life is transient!

The narrative in the works of Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein and Hendrick Goltzius also reflects how concerned the people of early modern times and beyond were with themes of death and redemption: a suitably morbid context for the “Tödlein”, this unique work of remembrance from the collection of Peter and Irene Ludwig, to whom this catalogue and exhibition are dedicated, supplemented by the three-dimensional portrayal of the Baseler Totentanz (dance of death) and numerous prints.