Female Staircase of Life, Staircase of life on which women are represented at nine different stages of life: from infant to very old age. Below each step, below the human figure, a bird is always represented to symbolize the corresponding stage of life: a chick in the infant, a peacock in the young woman, a mother hen in the young mother, a parrot in the elderly woman and finally a goose in the oldest female figure. In the upper left corner Christ is represented, enthroned in the clouds and surrounded by angels. In the upper right corner Satan is seated surrounded by devils. In the center, under the stairs, Death is represented. To his left, a naked young woman is taken by an angel and taken to heaven to Christ and to the right an old woman is taken by a devil to Satan. print maker: Cristofano Bertelli, (mentioned on object), Italy, c. 1560, paper, etching, height 385 mm x width 510 mm.