The Tattoos of Anthony Kiedis

Red Hot Chilip Pepper lead-singer Anthony Kiedis is known for his growing collection of tribal-style tattoos. His collection has grown slowly over the years and now spreads over this back and his arms. Although he's not gotten tons of ink, he has chosen pieces that are bold and distinctive. All of his tattoos are just in black and white and this makes them go together well. Kiedis has some Native American heritage and this has shaped a lot of his choices for his skin art.

You'll find lots of pages about Anthony's back tattoo on the web. Some call it an Incan falcon, some say it's an Aztec design. My best research would lead me to believe it's not any of those, but a Haida Thunderbird. This artwork comes from the tribes of the Pacific Northwest and is a stylization of an eagle. I can say with more certainty that it was tattooed by Henk Schiffmacher, aka Hanky Panky, an Amsterdam tattooist. The Peppers collectively hung out in Schiffmacher's tattoo studios back in their earlier days and all of the members of the band have got some sort of tattoo work from him.

The work down Anthony's arms has turned out fairly symmetrical. Each upper arm has a portrait of a Native American chief. One is of Chief Joseph and the other is of Sitting Bull. Each bicep has a blackwork, tribal-style armband going all the way around it. These are the styles that sort of riff on Borneon designs without being specific to that culture. Kiedis has had them since the early 90s, when this type of art was less common, but now this type of design is found on many tattoo fans.

The latest ink that Kiedis has are a pair of tribal-style daggers on each forearm. These incorporate Celtic linework and patterns in a stylized tribal outline and run from his elbows down to his wrists. These two tattoos are similar but are not identical. On the inside of his right forearm he also has a tiger tattoo which runs the entire length from elbow to wrist. This is the typical "climbing" cat style often seen in panthers and other tattooed predator cats.