# Spice Box Shaped as a Skull

- By: German
- Date: 17th century
- Medium: Silver gilt
- Classification: Costume and Accessories
- Dimensions: 3.2 × 2.2 × 2.7 cm (1 7/8 × 1 1/16 × 1 1/4 in.)
- Culture: Germany
- Credit line: Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/119546)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/31a8475fed50c64f38364e33acd2cd4f.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

A fitting accessory for an eerie end, this tiny macabre pendant—under an inch tall and wide—is also a rather surprisingly complicated spice box. The miniature spring-loaded button on the top opens the skull to reveal two sections, the back one divided into four compartments, and a panel engraved with the names of four aromatics: Negal (cloves), Muscha (nutmeg), Canel (cinnamon) and Schlag (schlagwasser, a mixture of brandy, primrose petals, and violets, thought to be a cardiac stimulant). The openings for the eye sockets, nasal passages, and missing teeth are not just anatomically correct; these perforations would have allowed the fragrances of the secreted spices to waft out and work their medicinal magic.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0