Carved by hand and painted into fantastic shapes like leopards, jet planes, cell phones, chickens, shoes, even cars and cigarettes, these artistic funerary creations began somewhat by accident at the Ghanian workshop of artisan Kane Quaye. Since then, they've not only caught on in the community, which may pool its funds to get one of these luxuries made, but have traveled to art museums worldwide. They are a bit like ice scupltures, in that they really are labor-intensive beauties designed to be unveiled during the memorial service and then buried forever. Read and see more from an exhibit held at the National Museum of Funeral History (yes, such an amazing place exists!).
They're all incredible, but since we can't decide between the lobster and the Benz, we're wondering if maybe the artists can make us something like this monster…
Image via StrangeRacer