A French memento mori dating to the late 1700s painted in gouache on parchment, depicting many objects that represent the transience of the human experience, such as flowers, an hourglass, a skull, a glass ball, clock, and more sitting atop an altar table of red marble. There are also several objects related to the arts and the human spirit, such as sheet music, a string instrument, and a theatre mask.

The text has been highlighted with gold leaf and reads:

"Quittez tout ce qui se passe, & ne cherchez que ce qui est Eternel. - St. August.

"Foible Condition, misérable Nature:

Tu n'es que Vanité, que Vent, que Pourriture,

Tu n'as rien d'assuré dans ce bas élément

Tes molles voluptez, & tes trésors sans nombre

Coulent ainsi que l'air, & passent comme une ombre,

Et tu finis plutôt, que ne fait un moment."

("Leave all that is going on, and seek only that which is Eternal. - St. August

"Weak Condition, miserable Nature:

You have nothing assured in this low element.

Your soft spirits and treasures without number,

Flow like the air and pass like a shadow,

and you would rather end something, than create a moment."