Why is the skull in Jan Jansz Treck's Vanitas Still Life wreathed in straw?

Question

I understand what the skull symbolises but is there an additional meaning because it is wreathed in straw?

You can find the painting here:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=ng6533

Answer 1

The straw encircles the skull in the manner of a crown of laurels. It was common for the ancient Greeks and Romans to publicly crown victorious generals, athletes, or actors/poets with laurels.

So the inference could be that earthly triumphs and glories are as worthless as straw, for we will all die.

Answer 2

Hi! First, look up Vanitas. Vanitas mean emptiness in Latin and symbolically in painting, the meaninglessness of earthly life and materialism and the transient nature of vanity. Look up straw: Historically, straw has come to mean something of little worth or consequence. The skull represents the certainty of death. So one can induce the straw draped skull as something transient.. decomposing quickly, .. that life is empty, fleeting and of little value.
http://www.nationalgalleryimages.co.uk/imagedetails.aspx?q=Still+Life+%26+Objects&mode=Subjects&start=9&num=12&ng=NG6533&frm=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanitas
http://www.answers.com/straw%20