If you’ve been following New York Fashion Week at all this past week, you’ve probably already seen your share of skeletons posing for photos, draped in high-fashion — here’s some MORE!
Photographer, Paul Koudounari has new book coming out called Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, (published by Thames & Hudson) which features some materialistic-ass skeletons showing off their worth! From Atlas Obscura:
The jewelled skeletons were originally found in catacombs beneath Rome in 1578, and distributed as replacements under the belief they were Christian martyrs to churches that had lost their saint relics in the Reformation. However, for most, their identities were not known. The receiving churches then spent years covering the revered skeletal strangers with jewels and golden clothing, even filling their eye sockets and sometimes adorning their teeth with finery. Yet when the Enlightenment came around they became a little embarrassing for the sheer amount of money and excess they represented, and many were hidden away or disappeared. Koudounaris tracked down the dead survivors.
Check out the rest of the sexy skeletons after the jump.
(The last photo is my favourite… She’s giving me “fix yo’ lipstick before you come and talk to me” eyes)!
[The jewelled skeletons of St. Benedictus photos are the work of Paul Koudounaris via atlasobscura]
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