Coral Skulls - 

"Amongst the tribal people of the great eastern peninsulas, surrounded by the great reefs and roar of breaking waves, a rather macabre tradition held sway, that upon death, men and woman of notable stature would be beheaded and their severed heads cast into the most dangerous parts of the reefs.

When the young would come of age, their path to adulthood would depend on them swimming out to those sacred parts of the reef, populated by sharks, rays, octopi and supposedly even ghosts. These young men and woman, no more than children, would have to retrieve the skulls of their ancestors with nothing but their wits, lungs and a knife. Now one with the coral, it is said that the skulls still retain some resemblance to their previous owners character, be it extravagant hair, tattoos or a wild visage thanks to the coral growth.”

Illustrations done for Gallery 33 in Amsterdam, show is called ‘Cabinet of Curiosities” 

Tiger Cub Failed Escape Attempt [x]