For the Love of God is a sculpture by artist Damien Hirst produced in 2007. It consists of a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead. Costing £14 million to produce, the work went on display at the White Cube gallery in London in an exhibition Beyond belief with an asking price of £50 million. This would have been the highest price ever paid for a single work by a living artist.[1]
The human skull used as the base for the work, bought in a shop in Islington, is thought to be that of a European living between 1720 and 1810.[1] The work's title was supposedly inspired by Hirst's mother, who once asked, “For the love of God, what are you going to do next?”[2]
8,601 flawless pavé-laid diamonds, weighing in total 1,106.18 carats (221.24 g),[3] over a platinum cast, cover the entirety of the skull, with the exception of the original teeth of the skull. At the centre of the forehead lies a pear-shaped pink diamond, the centrepiece of the work. All diamonds used for the work are said to be ethically sourced.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Love_of_God
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