Indonesian Candlepin Skull

A swirling blue skull grins from the studio like it won a prize.

This carved skull candlepin is from Bali, Indonesia, and is contemporary. Bali has a strong tradition of hand carving in wood and stone, and its workshops produce a wide range of decorative objects for local use and export. A life-sized skull form in translucent cobalt blue with white swirls inside the body. The eye sockets and nose opening are dark and hollow, the teeth are neatly defined, and the surface is glossy. It is 2.75 inches wide, 4 deep and 3.25 high.

Cheerful in color and oddly polite for a skull.