The Victorian era was supposed to be a time of chivalry, decorum and leisure, when a woman could spread out her elegant bell-shaped dress and keep cool with a lace fan. However, you know full well that we are living in the year 2011 and therefore we must contradict everything, including creating Victorian statuettes with severed heads and carved out brains. What a unique treat!

I was grossed out when I first saw these small porcelain figurines, the exact reaction the artist Jessica Harrison was no doubt trying to achieve. However, her gruesome representations of these ideal women likely have some deeper meaning that I don’t want to bore you with.

There are five in total, all of which have a different disfigurement. I like the lady in a blue dress cradling her brain and the top of her skull. It almost seems to say that we can all go on throughout our days without needing the services of our brain. I’m brilliant! The most frightening one, which will likely give me nightmares, is the faceless figurine with its eyes dangling out of its sockets. That is seriously jacked up.

Which of these crazy ass statuettes makes you cringe the most?