“Dos Caras” – The Two-Faced Skull by Ricardo Pustanio

🌓 “Dos Caras” – The Two-Faced Skull by Ricardo Pustanio

One of the Original 100 – 2021 First Series

This haunting and magnificent skull, crafted by master ritual artist Ricardo Pustanio, bears two faces—each emerging from the same sacred vessel of bone. It is a one-of-a-kind piece from the original series of 100 paper mache skulls created in 2021 for the New Orleans Healing Center altar installation, a project initiated by Sallie Ann Glassman. These skulls mark the genesis of what is now a celebrated international body of spiritual artwork.

We have named this altar piece “Dos Caras”—Two Faces—a reflection of duality, contradiction, and sacred complexity. It is a mirror for the soul and a guardian of spiritual thresholds.

🕯️ Spiritual Significance

“Dos Caras” holds the energy of:

• Duality and paradox
• Initiation and transformation
• Masks and mirrors—truth vs illusion
• The crossroads of the living and the dead
• The seen and unseen

It is a spirit mirror and a crossroads sentinel—perfect for altars dedicated to Gede, Elegua, Kalunga, Exu, or any force that walks between worlds. Its two faces may represent life and death, truth and deception, divine masculine and feminine, or simply the ever-turning nature of human consciousness.

This piece is ideal for:

🔮 Mediumship
🪞 Shadow work
⚖️ Working with the dead
🌒 Rituals of passage, banishment, or rebirth

🎭 About the Artist

Ricardo Pustanio is a New Orleans-based visionary, spiritual sculptor, and master of papier-mâché craft. From leading the Krewe of Mid-City (1999–2020) to creating the famed International Shrine of Marie Laveau, his work merges the spiritual and ceremonial with stunning artistic form. His skulls are now part of global collections and have been invited to the International Museum of Arts and Civilisations of Vodun in Benin.

📜 Details:

• Hand-sculpted papier-mâché skull
• Two full faces on one skull – front and rear
• Mounted on antique-finish, bone-like pedestal
• Dimensions: 14" x 5.5" x 8"
• One of 100 original skulls (2021)

🕯️This is not just a piece of art—it is a living altar, a guardian of transformation, and a spiritual witness to all that passes between the veils.