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Hand-crafted mummified head of Blackbeard (with stand) by internationally known artist Barry Anderso

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 750.00 USD
Hand-crafted mummified head of Blackbeard (with stand) by internationally known artist Barry Anderso
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This item SOLD at 2010 Oct 23 @ 16:54UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Hand-crafted mummified head of Blackbeard (with stand) by internationally known artist Barry Anderson. 1430 grams, 13" tall. On November 22, 1718, the infamous pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was captured and beheaded by the Royal Navy off Ocracoke Inlet, NC, and his head was famously hung on a ship's bowsprit and displayed thus for several months as the Navy vessel journeyed across the Atlantic and back. Then, in February of 1719, Blackbeard's head was stuck on a pole and left as a warning during the hanging of convicted pirates in Hampton, VA. Despite rumors of its existence in various forms since then (like a silver plated fraternity icon or punch bowl), in fact no one knows whatever happened to it.This, of course, is not the long-lost head of Blackbeard, but it is a carefully researched and studiously rendered actual-size sculpture of what it might look like. As noted in the pedigree, the sculptor who created this special piece for us is highly skilled in forensic reconstruction and has access to proprietary materials (like actual human hair, for example) that make this ghastly display really come to life (so to speak). The real Blackbeard's head, if it still exists (doubtful in almost all professional opinions), would be a priceless treasure; but we assert that this unique and faithfully done work of art is truly the "next best thing" for the pirate enthusiast. About the artist: Barry Anderson has spent the past 27 years working as an artist in Florida. He is accomplished as a commercial and fine artist as well as a special effects makeup artist for film and television. Since 1994 Barry has created museum figures for Ripley's Entertainment (where he is the Director of the Arts Department), which has enabled him to study genuine mummies, shrunken heads, trophy skulls and other unusual antiquities. Recently he traveled to Leymebamba, Peru, with mummy expert (and star of National Geographic's "Mummy Road Show") Gerry Conlogue, studying Incan and pre Incan Mummies with a group scientists from around the world. Barry's expertise in re-creating human remains and mummies has also brought him together with medical examiners, anthropologists and scientists in several documentaries and television programs as well as with police agencies for C.S.I. training and with military contractors for combat medic training. Barry's numerous film and television credits include: National Geographic's "Mummy Road Show"; Discovery Channel's "Super Sleuths"; P.B.S.'s "Secrets of the Dead - Gangland Graveyard"; and feature films "Hair Spray," "Jeepers Ceepers," and George Romero's "Day of the Dead."