A plasma lamp head that has a spherical plasma bulb whose upper hemisphere serves as the top of the head, a decorative face and lower back of the head covering the lower hemisphere of the bulb. Operative components are provide to enable the bulb to illuminate in response to receipt of appropriate energy delivery to excite the plasma within the bulb to illuminate. The face preferably has eyes, a nose, a mouth and ears, any of which may be transparent or translucent so that light shines through when the bulb illuminates. The remainder of the decorative face and lower back of the head may be opaque or translucent material.