LONDON.- Artist Damien Hirst unveiled a diamond-encrusted human skull worth £50m. It is said to be the most expensive piece of contemporary art. The skull is entirely covered in 8,601 jewels. The skull dates from the 18th Century and new teeth were made for the artwork at a cost of £14m. The skull is believed to belong to a 35-year-old European who lived between 1720 and 1810.

Damien Hirst said, "It works much better than I imagined. I was slightly worried that we'd end up with an Ali G ring. You just want it to be flawless, like a diamond is a flawless. We wanted to put them everywhere. They go underneath, inside the nose. Anywhere you can put diamonds, we've put diamonds. I wouldn't mind if it happened to my skull after my death."