The Descent of Man #3 -- Ashes to Ash

            This object predates me. An ashtray with a monkey and skull, it belonged to my grandfather and it came from Vienna to Melbourne with him, my grandmother, and my mother.

The monkey is brass, the skull likely to be ivory, while the hefty ashtray itself appears to be porphyry. There is a lot of detailed work in the components, but I cannot judge its truthfulnesses, to life or death. The skull in particular looks very realistic, with fine cranial sutures on top. However, although the simian has a tail, it’s facial features look more ape than monkey to me. 

I have known this ashtray all my life, though that was nearly very short. The item was in a room where I was put down to nap as a toddler and, on waking, stuck my thumb into a live 240V lamp socket. I well remember the buzz and shaking around I got.

Having survived that early encounter with it, I was a bit later told that the arrangement was a comment on Darwin's Theory of Evolution. I presume the monkey is pondering what went wrong...

Taken on: February 12, 2022

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Furniture « less

Sets appears in: • Curios & Other Curiosities • On the Table more » • Bokeh « less

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Camera: Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II, f/2.2, 1/100 sec, 12.9mm, ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II
Lens:	8.8-44.0 mm
Aperture:	f/2.2
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	12.9mm
ISO:	1250
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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