Damien Hirst's Latest: Bejeweled Baby Skull

Has bad-boy British artist Damien Hirst finally gone too far? The head of a parenting group says his latest work, a baby skull covered in platinum and bejeweled with 8,000 diamonds, will be “deeply disturbing” to bereaved parents. The skull used in For Heaven’s Sake is believed to be from a child who died before the age of two weeks during the Victorian era. Hirst, whose artwork has also included dissected sharks and pickled sheep, acquired the skull as part of a 19th century collection.

"Infants' skulls are rare, but they do occasionally come up for sale,” says a taxidermist. Adds the director of Hirst’s main production company, “I'm a mother, and I do find it slightly odd and strange to look at, but at the same time quite beautiful." The Telegraph has a picture.
(More Damien Hirst stories.)