ugly object voting

Announcing the Official Ugliest Object of 2019!

leschramLeave a comment

The votes are in!

Your voices have been heard loud and clear and the Ugliest Object of 2019 is …

CREEPY BABY HEAD BY A LANDSLIDE!

Whether you all truly find this object to be the ugliest of all those presented this year, or you just wanted to appease it so it won’t come after you next, the numbers don’t lie: Creepy Baby Head netted 44 of the 93 votes cast. (This is a huge number for us; the fame of the Ugliest Object competition is spreading. Tomorrow, THE WORLD!!)

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The runners up were so far behind that we won’t even bother mentioning them. CBH is in a class of its own.

Come experience for yourself the chilling effect of being in the same room with this eerie disembodied head. It’s still in our Roman Architecture display case on the second floor. Because, frankly, none of us want to make it mad by taking it off display.

A Vote for the Ugliest Object is a Vote for Humanity!

leschramLeave a comment

I’m not naming any names, but it seems like some people think it’s an ok idea to threaten cultural treasures.

We here at the Kelsey thumb our collective nose at this appalling notion.

All remnants of human history — from awe-inspiring edifices to the cringe-inducing array of weirdos that are our beloved “Ugly Objects” — are worthy of respect and protection.

By casting a vote for your favorite Ugly Object of 2019, you are proclaiming your love of our shared human past. A vote for the Ugliest Object is a vote for humanity!

Make your voice heard! Vote now!

Voting ends on January 15 and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

 

Announcing the Official Ugliest Object of 2018!

leschram1 Comment

We have a surprise winner in the Ugly Object of 2018 contest! (If we’re being honest, any one of them would have been a surprise.) The bust of Serapis has won by a landslide, having received almost double the votes of any other object. Tied for second place are the sprang fragment and the box of dirt.

Congratulations, you beautiful, ugly, wonderful things. We love you all, winners and not-winners.

winning object
2018’s Ugliest Object of the Year.

Ugly Object of the Month — January 2017

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By SUZANNE DAVIS, Curator of Conservation

We’re getting off to a rather late start with the Ugly Object this month — I was so excited about voting for 2016’s Ugly of Object the Year* that I almost forgot to pick an inaugural object for 2017!

Well, better late than never, folks, because this one is a winner. It’s a slingshot pellet and man, is it ugly. No need to elaborate on how ugly, because I think it’s pretty obvious. You can see it on view at the Kelsey starting next month as part of the exhibition The Art and Science of Healing: From Antiquity to the Renaissance.

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Lead slingshot pellet. Roman period. Rome. Gift of Esther van Deman, 1938. KM 6677d.

This little beauty is featured in a part of the exhibition that discusses medicine for the Roman army. Back in the day, this is the kind of thing that might end up embedded in your body after combat (and then have to be extracted by a surgeon). Ugh!

* Vote for 2016’s Ugly Object of the Year HERE!