Steampunk Skulls: Memento Mori in the Machine Age
The term steampunk was coined half-jokingly by writer K. W. Jeter in 1987 as a counterpart to cyberpunk – for stories set in a steam-powered version of the 19th century. The skull suits this style particularly well, partly because of the pronounced culture of mourning and remembrance in the Victorian era: strict mourning conventions, black jewellery and personal keepsakes were a firm part of how people dealt with death. Steampunk combines this memento mori with the technological enthusiasm of the machine age.
With Top Hat, Monocle or Mechanical Heart
The skulls wear top hats, a hat with a feather or striking feather ornaments, peer through monocles and optical magnifiers, or show mechanical rows of teeth and dreadlocks made of cables. Other models take the form of a heart with gears or are covered in blossoms in bronze and silver, and one skull lights up with a built-in LED. Many of the figurines are made by Veronese, the Steamhead Skull by Alchemy. Several skulls open up as a box for jewellery and small treasures – more models can be found among the skull trinket boxes. Figurines, clocks and octopuses in the same style are shown in the steampunk décor, and all other skulls in the skull décor.
