MUSEUMS ASSEMBLE! It's time for #CURATORBATTLE! 💥
Today's theme, chosen by you, is #CreepiestObject!
We're kicking things off with this 3rd/4th century hair bun from the burial of a #Roman lady, still with the jet pins in place…
CAN YOU BEAT IT? 💥 pic.twitter.com/ntPiXDuM6v
— Yorkshire Museum (@YorkshireMuseum) April 17, 2020
The National Museum of Scotland took the contest to another level with a pink “mermaid” with rotting teeth and the creepiest eyes you’ve ever seen.
Our #CreepiestObject has to be this ‘mermaid’… 😱💀🧜♀️ #CURATORBATTLE #TroublingTaxidermy pic.twitter.com/GMSosyuqIX
— Natural Sciences NMS (@NatSciNMS) April 17, 2020
On Prince Edward Island, Canada, the PEI Museum joined the fray by submitting a cursed children’s toy found inside the walls of a 155-year-old mansion, and in Germany, the German History Museum posted a beaked plague mask from the 17th-18th century.
Bringin’ our A-game for this #CURATORBATTLE! What is it? Just a CURSED CHILDREN’S TOY that we found inside the walls of a 155-year-old mansion. We call it “Wheelie” – and it MOVES ON ITS OWN: Staff put it in one place and find it in another spot later on…. #Creepiestobject pic.twitter.com/FQzMzacr8a
— PEI Museum (@PEIMuseum) April 17, 2020
Thanks for thinking of us @HottyCouture and wow, will we be having nightmares tonight with all these #CreepiestObject|s ! Here is the one we just can't hide from you, one of our many creepy gems – our Plague Mask (1650/1750)! #curatorbattle pic.twitter.com/JrMjqAJSIM
— Deutsches Historisches Museum (@DHMBerlin) April 17, 2020
Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum raised the stakes with a pendant in the shape of a decaying skull beset by worms, and the Pitt Rivers Museum, another Oxford institution, offered a sheep’s heart stuck with pins and nails, made in 1911 for “breaking evil spirits.”
In a lot of ways, we wish we could un-see this entire thread. And we most definitely cannot beat the hair bun. But we'll just leave this here… pic.twitter.com/rVSPVETSSP
— Ashmolean Museum (@AshmoleanMuseum) April 17, 2020
Sheep's heart stuck with pins and nails and strung on a loop of cord. Made in South Devon, circa 1911, "for breaking evil spells", @Pitt_Rivers collections #CreepiestObject #CuratorBattle pic.twitter.com/z5vdCFCU4S
— Dan Hicks (@profdanhicks) April 17, 2020
Historic Environment Scotland made its presence known with a man’s distorted face painted on a whale’s eardrum.
This is one of my favourite objects from @HistEnvScot Collections – a painted whale eardrum. Fascinating and highly disturbing! #CreepiestObject #Curatorbattle
More info 👇https://t.co/SIyqgmP2IG pic.twitter.com/HWCkyP3Qex
— Clara Molina Sanchez (@CMolinaSanchez) April 17, 2020
No matter how you personally feel about the items chosen for this museum battle, I think we can all agree — they’re all as creepy as can be. 