Mandala Longhorn, Silver and Gold

A longhorn skull that never belonged to a longhorn, finished in metal instead of bone.

Six hundred and twenty millimetres tip to tip, with mandala relief cut into every surface, a brushed silver body and gold horns. It reads as an object from a much more expensive shop than it came from.

Why silver works where gold did not

We tried the whole skull in gold. It failed, and it failed for a reason worth knowing: gold is a single bright value, so the light hits every raised edge at once and the carving flattens into a texture. Silver has somewhere to go. The grooves drop dark, the raised petals stay bright, and the mandala keeps its depth from across the room.

The gold stayed on the horns, which are smooth and have no detail to bury. That is where gold is at its best.

The carving is still the whole point

Every panel of the face carries relief: a full mandala across the forehead, paisley and scrollwork down the nasal bone, and pierced openwork where a real skull has sinus cavities. Move a lamp and the entire face changes, which is the one thing a flat piece of wall art cannot do.

The jute wrap is where the joins are

The binding sits exactly where the horns meet the skull, which is both the join and the weakest point in the object. That is not decoration covering a mistake, it is the honest solution to a real problem, and you could find the seams underneath if you unwound it. We would rather tell you than have you wonder.

A cow skull with no cow in it

Real skull mounts mean an animal, paperwork, weight, smell and a slice of people who will not have one in the house. This has the presence and none of the animal, and unlike the real thing it weighs about a kilogram.

Western, boho, or somewhere stranger

The bone version suits western, boho and modern farmhouse rooms. This one does not. Silver and gold pushes it toward glamour and maximalism: dark walls, brass, velvet, and rooms that are already trying something. It is the same sculpture aimed at a completely different house.

How it sits

Free standing. There is no hanger and no bracket in the box, and it needs 620 mm of clear surface. A wall mounted version and a stand are both coming, so if that is what you want, say so and you will be first to know.

The numbers

• 620 mm wide, 500 mm tall, 200 mm deep.
• About a kilogram. The courier bills it as considerably more, because a box this size is charged on volume. There is a note about that under postage.
• Printed in sections and bonded, because nothing this wide comes off a bed in one piece.
• Hand finished. Brushed metallic body, gold horns, jute wrap.
• SPECIMEN 003. That number belongs to this design and will never be given to another.

Looking after it

Keep it out of direct sun. Dust the relief with a soft dry brush rather than a cloth, which catches on the pierced work. Metallic finishes mark, so handle it by the horns and the base rather than the face.