about the obelisk

Led Zeppelin - Presence - I had an itch that is thankfully being scratched by some fine folks up on the YouTube



The Led Zeppelin FAQ on the obelisk on the cover:

14 - What's that thing on the _Presence_ cover?

It's called either The Obelisk or The Object, and was created by
Hipgnosis (the design company) to represent Led Zeppelin's "force
and presence." It was not intended as a reference to the Monolith
of _2001_, though the resemblance has been noted by many; including
Page himself.

One wonders where that thing is now. Surely someone at Hipgnosis saw fit to keep it. Supposedly a number of ceramic copies were made of it at the time, like this one sold in an online auction in 2006. Sayeth the seller:

In answer to the questions of authenticity, I bought this in a collection of stuff from a record shop in London which was sent it at the time, so it has had two owners including me, as far as I know. Looking at the other OBJECT currently being sold as genuine, mine appears identical. The recent OBJECT sold as a replica on eBay has a glossy finish which mine doesn't have, mine is a" matt" finish. In e-mail, this was described as a "flat" finish. (Does "flat" mean the opposite of glossy in America, where we would say "matt" in the UK?)

I found no immediate evidence that there has been a bong made in replica of the obelisk, which makes me shake my head in disappointment at the whole of stonerdom.