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A diamond-encrusted platinum skull by artist Damien Hirst has been sold to an investment group for the asking price of £50 million, a spokeswoman for Hirst's London gallery White Cube said. The skull, cast from a 35-year-old 18th century European man but retaining the original teeth, is coated with 8,601 diamonds, including a large pink diamond worth more than £4 million in the centre of its forehead.

The skull caused a sensation when it first went on display at an exhibition of new works by Hirst at the White Cube in central London on June 3 – not least because of its price tag. Some critics dismissed it as tasteless while others saw it as a reflection of celebrity-obsessed culture.

He said from the outset he wanted the work, inspired by similarly bejewelled Aztec skulls, to be on public view. He rejected suggestions that his works were more a standing joke against the art establishment than real works of art. But when asked at the time of the exhibition what his next project would be he immediately replied: "Two diamond skeletons shagging – no just kidding."
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