Cleaning and arranging are not my most favorite past-time activities but I have to admit they bring benefits… like rediscovering things that you forgot existed and coming up with new decoration ideas with these newly-found objects!
We bought these four marble skulls in Varanasi, from the same man who sold us the Nandi (Home Sweet Home). Yesterday while cleaning I placed the skulls on this bowl (that I think comes from Zanzibar) because they were on my way, but once I took a second look I realized they actually look quite stylish. Especially with those red communist farmers in the background (an old Communist propaganda poster from Kyrgyzstan). 
Skulls are very fashionable these days. My husband is dreaming of a tiny golden skull necklace. Skulls have a lot of symbolic values and not only among different religious groups. A skull is actually beautiful –even that black, burnt skull I saw at the burning ghat in Varanasi. Skulls fascinate and scare us.
What do you think? Would you have them at home as a decoration item? What do they symbolize to you?
pearlspotting 
I think your skulls are beautiful! 🙂 However, I always feel a bit weird when I buy souvenirs from a foreign country and then use them for a purpose other than what they were intended for. When I was in China, and I bought a miniature coffin (about 10cm long) made out of wood and bone. I displayed it in my apartment but it really freaked out any Chinese person who came over. I suppose it’s your house and you bought the souvenir so you can do what you want with it. Just something to think about.
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Hello! Ummm you surely got me thinking.
So, did you remove the coffin?
Why did the Chinese freak out? Did they explain?
What is your coffin supposed to be used for? (10cm is small!!)
I don’t think our skulls serve a specific purpose in India (other than a souvenir object) but I may be wrong. I try not to be superstitious either…
I guess my argument is kind of like this: skulls are often misunderstood (they do not represent only death), and even if the death is inevitable, better accept it…
Well, I’d better stop these nonintellectual ramblings!!! 😉 This said, it did happen to me in Varanasi that I saw some really beautiful textiles. I was going to buy some, but (thank goodness) I asked the seller what they are used for, and he said they cover the dead body… No need to say, I did not buy any! Imagine I had used them as decoration at home. That would have been tacky, strange, awkward!!
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