A Fellow of Infinite Jest? Platinum and Diamond Skull Sells for ₤50 Million
posted by Deven Desai
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it.
An artist has taken the skull of a man who died in the 1700s, made a platinum cast, kept the original teeth, and encrusted it with “8,601 near-flawless pave-set diamonds, including a large pink diamond worth more than £4m in the centre of its forehead.” The Financial Times reports that a group of investors that includes the artist has bought the skull so they can put it on tour and then sell it at a later date. The event almost makes Helmsley’s trust for her dog seem like a commonplace and reasonable act.
The claim is that the piece, “For the Love of God” symbolizes “the maximum celebration you could make against death”. Mr. Hirst has also said it is the “the ultimate victory over death, the most you could get from decoration, because our society loves money and wealth”. Infinite jest indeed.
The only pictures of the skull I could find are Getty Images and I think restricted. You can see it here. Besides I think Hamlet’s nod to his dead friend would be less compelling if it were a shiny, enhanced version of his skull. Having just seen an excellent production of the play here in San Diego (and I recommend the Old Globe summer Shakespeare performances should you be in San Diego during their season), I’ll take the older artist’s view that money and wealth seem to have little to do with victory over death. Last I heard, death and taxes are still inevitable. Which is not to say people won’t try to avoid both, but really it seems to be a rather quixotic quest.
September 3, 2007 at 2:25 pm
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