LONDON (AFP) - British artist Damien Hirst, notorious for preserving a shark in formaldehyde, unveiled his latest work Friday: a 50 million pound (74 million euro) diamond-encrusted cast of a human skull.

The work, entitled "For The Love Of God," is a platinum cast of an 18th century skull studded with 8,601 diamonds, which his representatives say were ethically-sourced.

Hirst said he hoped that the work would go on show at the British Museum in London, alongside an Aztec turquoise skull which inspired it.

The skull is on display alongside other works at London's White Cube Mason's Yard amid tight security from June 3 to July 7.

Hirst told reporters as the work was unveiled: "I've stopped worrying about what art is. If it's in an art gallery on the wall or the floor, it's probably art."

Asked what his next work would be, he joked: "Two diamond skeletons shagging."

Death is a central theme in much of Hirst's work -- he once said that the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States were like a work of art, but later apologised.