I am always amazed by the different types of work we find in our search for skulls. People seriously blow my mind and this Untitled sculpture, featuring some skulls, by Kris Kuksi is mind boggling. It was also sent to us by a Facebook fan, so cheers for sharing!
Kris creates all sorts of detailed sculptures, each one as beautiful as the last, and I’ve spotted more than 1 skull in there!
This creative woodwork skull carving is by Maskull Lasserre. We’ve featured a skull of his before where he carved a skull out of a book which had been clasped in a vice. The man is amazingly talented and you can see some of his other works here, which include carving skulls and skeletal systems out of wood.
This gorgeous golden melting skull is by Swedish-born artist Malin Isaksson. It was spotted at the Stockholm Furniture Fair and is called ‘He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Longest.’
The skull was water-gilded with 23.75 karat gold and made of plaster, clay, gesso and bole.
Nickel carving originated in the 18th century and the coins themselves were referred to as Hobo Nickels – the name is derived from the great depression when unemployed artists spent their time carving these little pieces of art in the hope to make some extra money – there is even a Hobo Nickel Society!.
The craze really took off in the 20th century due to a softer metal being used to mint the coins known as Buffalo Nickel. There are many different coin designs and patterns from this era but we love these skull nickels the most, for obvious reasons!
Shared via the awesome blog – This is Colossal.
One of our previous posts showed some insane skull carvings on buffalo skulls available from Beachcomber (Yorkshire, England) has smashed out almost 200K Stumbles on StumbleUpon (not sure if that sentence is correct). Anyway, they are awesome.
We have posted a few times about these amazing carvings and have since come into contact with the actual artists from Bali from a company called Bali Organic Arts (FB Page). Below is some recent work and definitely some of their most intricate. There are also some nice process images how they take an already beautiful skull and elevate it to splendid beauty.
I will own one of these one day!
This coconut skull has found it’s way into the dark folds of the Skull Appreciation Society and we all welcome you. This fiendish mask-like skull was carved by skull nut (badum tish) Scott Middlehurst, a self taught artists hailing from Canada. Scott has made me aware that these skulls can be made available for purchase but do take a month to create from start to finish (includes getting the coconuts). If you dig this skull as much as we do then we recommend popping over to Scotts Facebook page (liking it of course) and get in touch with regards to pricing.
Hopefully we will see many more skull creations in the near future.
The Empire of Death by Paul Koudounaris is a must-have book for any skull lover. I was lucky enough to win this beautiful edition through another skull-themed website called Obsessed With Skulls. I actually received my signed copy around 16:30 on Christmas eve, and boy was I happy, as it turns out it was my best Christmas gift (but don’t tell my girlfriend that).
The Empire of Death is available from Amazon and is on offer for £19.16.
The Empire of Death is a cultural history of ossuaries and charnel houses. Paul Koudounaris takes us on a well-documented and beautifully illustrative tour of numerous tombs which are situated throughout Europe including famous sites such as the Catacombs of Paris, the Sedlec Ossuary and the crypt of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. The book actually got its name from the Catacombs in Paris where visitors are greeted with a sign telling them they are about to enter The Empire of Death.
Most of the tombs are covered top-to-bottom in skulls and bones, with the focus being human bone. These marvellously macabre surroundings are rather harrowing but intriguing too as they tell a story of religion, cultures, beliefs and views from different centuries past through architectural masterpieces.
Some of the images below have been taken from the book can also be bought as prints if you follow this link here.
Skeleton of Pancratius
Robed skeleton from Roman Cataccombs
Bavarian painted skulls (Dingolfing, Germany)
Capela dos Ossos (Alcantarilha, Portugal)
Mummified monk in the crypt of Santa Maria delle Concezione (Rome, Italy)
I have yet to finish it but so far it has blown my mind right out of my skull and back again. I would suggest getting yourself a copy now and get yourself educated on the interesting world of death.
This amazing sheep skull sculpture was created by the amazing Shane Wilson (featured on here before) and is definitely one of the best skull sculptures I have seen. This was a commissioned piece by a man who hunted the sheep (that does sound amusing) and you can even see one of the bullet holes on the right horn.
We love it when our fellow skull lovers send us their skulls. This post will feature a variety of skulls sent in by you – keep ‘em coming and we’ll keep posting the best and coolest skulls from around the world.
Third Eye Test Skull art by Martin Herbert
Game Over Skull T-shirt Rockhart Clothing
This sublime skull bead necklace is by Vivienne Westwood, one of the most successful UK-based designers. Each skull is carved from resin and decorated in an array of pastel colours – there are nine skulls in total. The skull necklace retails for £130 and is available to buy from here online store.
