A buzzard skull found in a field, now covered with genuine gold leaf and suspended by a gilded chain in a cage above a hand-embroidered cushion.

There is a tradition, especially in Edinburgh graveyards, of building an iron cage over a grave to ensure the safety of the contents (oh, the horrors wrought by those resurrection men!) & it seemed fit to keep this delicate bird skull equally safe.

17 1/2" tall, including a finial made up of glass beads (inc. an evil eye) and bronze-coloured wing. The embroidery is a quotation from TS Eliot's "Little Gidding"