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| Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Chess Piece 19th century jasperware Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Anonymous Maker working in Venice Goblet with Roses ca. 1875 glass Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Anonymous Maker working in Naples Cherub ca. 1750-1800 polychromed wood Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| François Duquesnoy Bust of Jesus as a Youth ca. 1620-43 gilt bronze Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Riccio (Andrea Briosco) Inkwell in the form of a Frog ca. 1500 bronze Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin |
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| Anonymous Maker working in Germany Chess Pieces 16th century carved and painted wood with silver leaf and gold leaf Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Jacopo da Trezzo Portrait Medallion of Ippolita Gonzaga 1548 gold Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
from The Vanity of Human Wishes
Enlarge my life with multitude of days,
In health, in sickness, thus the suppliant prays;
Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know
That life protracted is protracted woe.
Time hovers o'er, impatient to destroy,
And shuts up all the passages of joy:
In vain their gifts the bounteous seasons pour,
The fruit autumnal, and the vernal flower,
With listless eyes the dotard views the store,
He views, and wonders that they please no more;
Now pall the tasteless meats, and joyless wines,
And Luxury with sighs her slave resigns.
– Samuel Johnson (1749)
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| Mirosław Bałka Salt Seller 1988 wood, jute, steel, salt Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Sèvres Manufactory Sugar Sifter ca. 1750-65 porcelain Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Constantin Brâncusi Leda ca. 1920 marble on concrete base Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Antonio Calcagni Bust of Annibale Caro ca. 1566-72 bronze and marble Victoria & Albert Museum |
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| Ancient Egypt Recumbent Jackal ca. 1315-1081 BC painted wood statuette Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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| Sèvres Manufactory Elephant Candelabrum Vase (Vase à Tête d'Eléphant) 1757-58 porcelain Art Institute of Chicago |
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| François Carlo Antommarchi Death Mask of Napoleon modeled 1821, cast 1833 bronze Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Natalia Goncharova (designer) Embroidered Jacket ca. 1920-30 silk Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Jean Démontreuil Dead Bird ca. 1795 carved wood relief Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |