11 Craziest Creations Made From Human Skulls
- 6 years ago
From art to masks here are 11 Craziest Creations Made From Human Skulls. Some of these are freaky and some are amazing!\r
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5 - Masks\r
Ready for the creepiest Halloween mask ever? An Aztec temple found in Mexico unearthed 30 decapitated skull as well as eight extremely morbid masks comprised of, you guessed it, ual human skulls. The skull masks are thought to have been crafted from heads of captured defeated warriors and slain members of the nobility, parts of the skulls were removed and the skulls were dyed and modified some contained blades jutting forth from the nasal cavities and shell or pyrite inlaid into the eyes. These decorative head pieces are believed to have been worn b the social elite as a symbol of their power. But no one knows for sure and the skull masks continue to thrill archaeologists and anthropologists alike. \r
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4 - Cups \r
Lets make a toast, to human skulls made into drinking cups, many cultures throughout history made these unnerving drinking receptacles by slaying their enemies and collecting their skull as trophies. The skull was then cut and sanded down, usually by hand to form a cup. This is where the Scandinavian toast Skal comes from. According to legend after the Pirate Blackbeard was conquered and subsequently beheaded his skull was made into a drinking cup. The English poet Lord Byron, quite possibly the original Goth kid, used a skull his gardener discovered as a drinking vessel. According to historians Scythians would kill their enemies and make their skulls into goblets as well as Japanese warriors of old for sake cups. In India and Tibet, the skull cup is referred to as a Kapala and is utilised in Buddist and Hindu tantric rituals. Vikings from Scandinavia have a long history of conquering their enemies and drinking from craniums, the earliest dated skull cap is said to be from 14,700 BC and hails from Somerset England. \r
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3 - Art\r
Theres a 50 million euro sculpture currently on display inside the White Cube gallery in London England in an exhibition entitled Beyond Belief, which is sculpted by artist Damien Hirst, titled For the Love of God, which consists of an 18th-century human skull and 8,601 flawless diamonds. The skull is thought to belong to a 35-year-old European man who lived somewhere between 1720 and 1810, the work is inspired by Damiens mother who took one look at the skull he took home and exclaimed, For the love of God, what are you going to do next? Cast it in platinum add real teeth and then spend 14 million euro on diamonds to encase inside the folds of bone including a pear-shaped pink diamond located on the forehead which is known as the Skull Star Diamond. The artwork is said to be Memento Mori, or a reminder of mortality, it was produced in 2007 and sold the same year to an anonymous buyer in cash paid in full, leaving no paper trail. \r
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2 - Lyre \r
This was once a human skull, but now, its a musical instrument, called a lyre, this must be the most grisly macabre instrument ever. The cranium was sawed down and the top portion removed, next strands of hair were sewn to the edges of what was once flesh but now dried husk of skull, a pair of antelope horns were attached to the backend and a wooden stick mounted to the horns to form the fret for this string instrument. Antelope gut functions as the strings for the musically inclined and are held in place through the vacant eye sockets. You can find this one on display inside New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art. But the real question is, how does an instrument made from a human skull sound? \r
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1 - Buildings \r
Around the big wide world, there are several buildings still standing composed nearly entirely of human bones, especially skulls. The Eggenberg Charnel in Austria is held together with the remains of 5,800 deceased individuals. The Chapel of Bones in Portugal was constructed by a monk in the 16th century, its only a small chapel but it is strung together with the skulls and bones of around 5,000 monks. The catacombs of Paris France opened in the late 18th century and are wall to wall with countless lost lives. These catacombs of bones span more than 200 miles of labyrinth, the underground ossuary is said to contain 6 to 7 million people. There is also the Sedlec Ossuary which contains between 40,000 and 70,000 people can be found in the Czech Republic. And the Skull Chapel which is comprised of bones from the Thirty Years War and three Silesian Wars can be found in Poland, it was first constructed in 1776. Even Portugal has a chapel made from bones and skulls and includes a skeleton completely decked out in gold, the Capela de Ossos was built in 1719 and still stands, bones, skulls and all.
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Subscribe to Talltanic \r
\r
5 - Masks\r
Ready for the creepiest Halloween mask ever? An Aztec temple found in Mexico unearthed 30 decapitated skull as well as eight extremely morbid masks comprised of, you guessed it, ual human skulls. The skull masks are thought to have been crafted from heads of captured defeated warriors and slain members of the nobility, parts of the skulls were removed and the skulls were dyed and modified some contained blades jutting forth from the nasal cavities and shell or pyrite inlaid into the eyes. These decorative head pieces are believed to have been worn b the social elite as a symbol of their power. But no one knows for sure and the skull masks continue to thrill archaeologists and anthropologists alike. \r
\r
4 - Cups \r
Lets make a toast, to human skulls made into drinking cups, many cultures throughout history made these unnerving drinking receptacles by slaying their enemies and collecting their skull as trophies. The skull was then cut and sanded down, usually by hand to form a cup. This is where the Scandinavian toast Skal comes from. According to legend after the Pirate Blackbeard was conquered and subsequently beheaded his skull was made into a drinking cup. The English poet Lord Byron, quite possibly the original Goth kid, used a skull his gardener discovered as a drinking vessel. According to historians Scythians would kill their enemies and make their skulls into goblets as well as Japanese warriors of old for sake cups. In India and Tibet, the skull cup is referred to as a Kapala and is utilised in Buddist and Hindu tantric rituals. Vikings from Scandinavia have a long history of conquering their enemies and drinking from craniums, the earliest dated skull cap is said to be from 14,700 BC and hails from Somerset England. \r
\r
3 - Art\r
Theres a 50 million euro sculpture currently on display inside the White Cube gallery in London England in an exhibition entitled Beyond Belief, which is sculpted by artist Damien Hirst, titled For the Love of God, which consists of an 18th-century human skull and 8,601 flawless diamonds. The skull is thought to belong to a 35-year-old European man who lived somewhere between 1720 and 1810, the work is inspired by Damiens mother who took one look at the skull he took home and exclaimed, For the love of God, what are you going to do next? Cast it in platinum add real teeth and then spend 14 million euro on diamonds to encase inside the folds of bone including a pear-shaped pink diamond located on the forehead which is known as the Skull Star Diamond. The artwork is said to be Memento Mori, or a reminder of mortality, it was produced in 2007 and sold the same year to an anonymous buyer in cash paid in full, leaving no paper trail. \r
\r
2 - Lyre \r
This was once a human skull, but now, its a musical instrument, called a lyre, this must be the most grisly macabre instrument ever. The cranium was sawed down and the top portion removed, next strands of hair were sewn to the edges of what was once flesh but now dried husk of skull, a pair of antelope horns were attached to the backend and a wooden stick mounted to the horns to form the fret for this string instrument. Antelope gut functions as the strings for the musically inclined and are held in place through the vacant eye sockets. You can find this one on display inside New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art. But the real question is, how does an instrument made from a human skull sound? \r
\r
\r
1 - Buildings \r
Around the big wide world, there are several buildings still standing composed nearly entirely of human bones, especially skulls. The Eggenberg Charnel in Austria is held together with the remains of 5,800 deceased individuals. The Chapel of Bones in Portugal was constructed by a monk in the 16th century, its only a small chapel but it is strung together with the skulls and bones of around 5,000 monks. The catacombs of Paris France opened in the late 18th century and are wall to wall with countless lost lives. These catacombs of bones span more than 200 miles of labyrinth, the underground ossuary is said to contain 6 to 7 million people. There is also the Sedlec Ossuary which contains between 40,000 and 70,000 people can be found in the Czech Republic. And the Skull Chapel which is comprised of bones from the Thirty Years War and three Silesian Wars can be found in Poland, it was first constructed in 1776. Even Portugal has a chapel made from bones and skulls and includes a skeleton completely decked out in gold, the Capela de Ossos was built in 1719 and still stands, bones, skulls and all.