what is the history and meaning behind the tattoo of a skull wearing a top hat?

Question

it is very popular

Answer 1

The image makes me immediately think of Baron Samedi, who was, I believe, a death figure from a Voudoun mythology. Unfortunately, I'm not very well-read on that particular branch, but that's what comes to mind.

Answer 2

Skull With Top Hat

Answer 3

It may have links to the voodoo god or "Loa" called Baron Samedi who is the God of the Dead and is often represented by a skull with a top hat on. Other variations of this have also included sunglasses and cigars.

This was used for advertising by a cigarette company I think and they were used after that on tattoos. Also used in the James Bond film "live and let die" as part of a voodoo ceremony.

Answer 4

I go along with the answer referring to Baron Samedi - he's called that in Haiti, because of that country's connection with France (Samedi=Saturday), but he probably has another name, and may be differently dressed, in the original African voodoo..Maybe he acquired his European top hat in Haiti from a connection with evil French plantation owners, using Africans as slaves.

Answer 5

Skull with Top Hat Tattoo - Although there are over 200 bones in a human body, there is one skeletal segment above all others which is immediately recognized as uniquely representative of all humankind: the skull. But it is not simply a symbol of humanity, it is instead a direct symbol of human death. Many organizations have used skulls in their symbolism, conveying a sense of fearlessness, fierceness, and even intimidation. Many cultures have actually worshipped skulls as sources of power, displayed them as war trophies, and even used them as chalices for sacred drinks. Many religious figures are linked with the symbolism of the skull as well including the Hindu gods Kali and her husband Shiva who are both adorned with garlands of skulls. In Christianity, the site of the crucifixion is known as Golgotha, the Aramaic word for skull. On a lighter note, however, it is Shakespeare who has Hamlet banter with the skull of "poor Yorick", who although a "fellow of infinite jest" seems no longer to be able to even "mock your own grinning." It is a lighter tone as well that the top hat seems to add in this classic tattoo design. Although the gleaming, silky, and deeply black formal headgear has sometimes been worn by stylish morticians, it is irony in the extreme when contrasted with the blinding white bareness of a skull. There is something conspicuously swanky and disdainfully dressed-up when the most plain of human likenesses is paired with a top hat, also known as a high hat. Other tattoo symbols of memento mori (Latin for "remember you must die) may convey the same reminder of our mortality but few others manage to lay on the same sense of cool, cavalier, contempt as the skull with top hat.

Answer 6

It would seem to be a reminder of death - a thumbing one's nose at it in fact.

Have a look at the explanation here: http://www.tattoosymbol.com/articles/skull-top-hat.html

Answer 7

my ex had one that he'd done when he was 14. i bought him a celtic symbol which was tattooed over it. He was a miserable sob and i think the tattoo represented his dark side which was what casued us to split up. it is an image you see in carneval in new orleans..think it is something from yoruba spiritualism or voodoo. my ex had me under a spell it took two years to break. so make of that what you will..

Answer 8

A very posh skeleton?