Phaedo

A two part antique (Victorian) fob curb chain. Hefty and beautiful worn , holding a lot of history! A sterling skull swings to the side. A wee wink . Ready to hold any amulet you might have or worn just like that…

I was recently reading about skulls and the celts and learnt, the skull (and the head in general) to them was not merely part of the body — it was the seat of the soul. Warriors believed the skull housed a person's spirit, wisdom, and life-force even after death, which is why they so often carried or displayed skulls as talismans of protection. To hold one was to hold a measure of its former courage. 

Throughout Britain, skulls have served as guardians against illness and misfortune, and as bridges to ancestral power. Animal skulls carried their own symbolism — each species lending its particular strength, cunning, or instinct to the wearer, and standing as a guide between the world of the living and the world beyond. 

By the Renaissance (In the west) , this ancient reverence for the skull had evolved into something more contemplative: the tradition of memento mori — "remember you must die." Carved skulls appeared in pendants, rings, and rosary beads, worn by nobles, scholars, and clergy alike. Often paired with hourglasses or crossed bones, these pieces were not meant to be pure goth vibes. They were meditations — reminders that time is finite, and that this fact alone gives life its meaning.

Memento mori was never about morbidity. It was — and remains — an invitation to live with clarity. The idea threads through centuries of art, literature, and philosophy, echoing a truth Socrates gave voice to long before: that philosophy itself is a practice for facing death well, as he tells his companions in Plato's Phaedo.

To wear a skull, then, is not to invite darkness — it is to carry a small, ancient philosophy close to the skin: a reminder that because our time is limited, it is worth living deliberately, courageously, and fully.

Length: 27.5 cm

Weight: 64 g