The crystal skull
What is it?
A life-size carving of a human skull made from a single block of
rock crystal (a clear, colourless variety of quartz). It was
acquired by the Museum in 1897 purporting to be an ancient Mexican
object. However scientific research conducted by the Museum has
established that the skull was most likely produced in the
nineteenth century in Europe. As such the object is not an
authentic pre-Columbian artefact.
How did it enter the collection?
The skull was purchased by the Museum from Tiffany and Co,
New York in 1897. At the time of its purchase, the skull was said
to have been brought from Mexico by a Spanish officer before the
French occupation (in 1863). It was sold to an English collector
and acquired at his death by Eugène Boban, a French antiquities
dealer, later becoming the property of Tiffany and Co. The skull
was exhibited for many years at the Museum of Mankind in Piccadilly
(which housed the British Museum’s Ethnographic collection), it is
currently on permanent display at the British Museum in the
Wellcome Trust Gallery.
What scientific research has been undertaken?
The British Museum has examined the skull several times between
1950 and 1990. In 1996, a collaborative project focusing on the
British Museum’s skull and a skull in the collection of the
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC was started. Contrary to
popular belief, there are no satisfactory scientific techniques
which can be used to accurately establish when a stone object was
carved. Research has therefore focused on how the skulls were
carved, where the quartz originated from and what is known about
the early history of the skulls. Observations made with a binocular
microscope and in a scanning electron microscope show that the
techniques used to carve the skulls post date the ancient Aztec
period. The tool marks on the skulls are very different to those on
ancient Mexican rock crystal objects, which were carved by hand.
The British Museum skull was extensively worked with lathe-mounted
rotary wheels (jeweller’s wheels), which were unknown in the
Americas before the arrival of the Europeans. The research also
shows that the large block of rock crystal suitable for the British
Museum skull did not come from a source within the ancient trade
network of Mexico. It is likely to have originated from a source in
Brazil or Madagascar. The results of this research have
been published in the Journal of Archaeological
Science and are available online: Sax, M., Walsh, J.M.,
Freestone, I.C., Rankin, A.H. and Meeks, N.D., Journal of
Archaeological Science (2008).
Do others exist?
There is a larger white quartz skull in the collection of the
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC and a number of other large
skulls in private ownership. There are also a number of smaller
rock crystal skulls. Rock crystal skulls first began to
surface in public and private collections, during the second half
of the nineteenth century, and an increasing number of large and
small quartz skulls have become known in recent decades, mostly in
private hands. However, no such skull has ever been reported from
well-documented official archaeological excavation. Archival
research has, in addition, produced a link between the British
Museum’s skull and another rock crystal skull (in the Musée du Quai
Branly, Paris). Both skulls passed through the hands of the French
dealer Eugène Boban, raising suspicions regarding their
provenance.
Why were the skulls produced?
It is impossible to be sure why all the skulls were produced.
Some may have been produced to satisfy demands in the US and Europe
in the nineteenth century when interest in collecting Mexican
material was at its height. Others are said to be examples of
colonial Mexican art, for use in churches, perhaps as bases for
crucifixes.
Are there any genuine Aztec crystal skulls?
It seems unlikely, since no quartz crystal skull has ever been
found on any of the many well-documented official archaeological
excavations of ancient sites.
Did the Aztecs make these kinds of objects?
Skulls and skull imagery featured in Aztec art at the time of
the first contact with the Spanish in 1519. They were worked by
Aztec, Mixtec and even Mayan craftsmen, and a human skull covered
with turquoise mosaics is displayed in the Mexican gallery of the British Museum. Skulls
and skull imagery also feature in architectural elements, carved in
relief in basalt or limestone, but objects of this kind were not
produced in rock crystal or white quartz.
Do they have special powers?
There are some who claim that crystal skulls have healing
qualities, emit energy, have the ability to convey vital
information or are repositories of ancient wisdom. Large quartz
crystal skulls have generated great interest and fascination since
they began to surface in public and private collections during the
second half of the nineteenth century. The British Museum views the
skull in its collection as an enigmatic object of great interest
but with no supernatural properties.
What is the British Museum’s response to the new movie?
As entertainment the movie will surely appeal to the public, but
it is very much a work of fiction. We hope, however, that it will
encourage visitors to see the skull at the British Museum and to
learn more about Aztec culture.
If you require images or wish to request an interview please
contact:
Hannah Boulton on +44 (0)20 7323 8522, hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
or
Katrina Whenham on +44 (0)20 73232 8583, kwhenham@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk