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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Halloween candy holder made from papier-mâché, 1950s. 🍬

Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Faun Water Jug 💧 19th-century bronze pitcher shaped like a bearded faun with three legs. Used in religious ceremonies for washing hands.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This Gelede mask is an wonderful example of West African artistic tradition. Traditionally, Gelede masks are worn by men during ceremonial performances that honor and celebrate the power, wisdom, and social importance of women and mothers.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Shopping Index 🛍️ A brass index tool used to organise shopping lists, produced by Giftcraft during the 1940s-50s. You'll never forget to pick up catsup again!

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The jaggedhead gurnard (Gargariscus prionocephalus) is a rare armored seabed fish found in the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, known for its serrated, shield-like “jagged” head and whisker-like barbels used for sensing food along the seafloor.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

You never know who you might bump into at the Museum of Curiosities.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Lumpfish 🐠 The Lumpfish is a curious, round-bodied marine fish found in cold North Atlantic waters. It clings to rocks using a suction disc, feeding on small invertebrates. It is known for its nobbly body and colour, often blending with rocky seabeds.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The Chicken Man, an unfortunate farmyard anomaly, was discovered in a hayloft, his solemn, human-like face peering from a body of ruffled feathers.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Porcupines are slow-moving, mostly nocturnal rodents famous for the thousands of sharp spines, called quills, covering their backs and tails. When threatened, they turn their backs, raise their quills and emit a strong odour to warn predators. If attacked, the quills detach easily on contact.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Triggerfish 🐟 Triggerfish are intelligent reef fish that use their dorsal spines to wedge into crevices and have powerful jaws built for crushing shellfish.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Plague of London Ring 💍 These rings were worn by children in London during the Great Plague of 1665–1666, believed to protect them from infection. Sadly, many were found in mass graves, showing they did not fulfil their supposed protective power.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Memorial Plaque 🩶 Popular in France, cast iron heart-shaped memorial plaques served as commemorations, often used as grave markers or memento mori reminders.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Portunus pelagicus, also known as the flower crab or blue crab. 🦀 Part of our 'Creatures of the Deep' display upstairs.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Fon Voodoo Fetish. 🕯️ This voodoo fetish from Benin is crafted by the Fon people, known for their ritual objects in vodun practices. Consecrated by a priest, it is meant to invoke protection, healing or guidance rather than cause harm.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I scream, you scream, we all scream. 🍦 Clown animatronic, 1950s.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Room key from a haunted hotel 🏨 The legendary gangster Al Capone is rumored to haunt the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago. While Capone never officially stayed at the hotel, it was a frequent hub for his associates, and guests report hearing his wingtip shoes pacing the halls.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Dogfish. 🦈 A small shark found worldwide, dogfish feed on fish, crustaceans, and squid. They have spiny fins and live longer than most other fish their size.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Silver Fox. 🩶 A silver fox is a rare, dark-coated (melanistic) variant of the red fox. The term has also come to be used to describe handsome older men.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Garfish. 🌊 The garfish is a slender fish with a long snout and sharp teeth, found in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

All kinds of everything. Discover your next nightmare at Dublin's Museum of Curiosities.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Mummified Rat King 🐀 A Rat King is a group of rats or mice whose tails have become twisted and bound together. This can happen through entanglement with hair, sticky substances like sap or gum, or by being tied.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The Blackthorn Beast 🐺 A black-furred, canine-like creature with devilish horns and a forked tongue, the Blackthorn Beast is said to roam lonely country roads on foggy nights. Those who claim to have seen it insist the sighting foretells great tragedy.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Did you know? The museum is home to over 200 clowns, complete with its own dedicated clown closet. 🤡

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Wrigley’s Gum Stand 🌝 Featuring Wrigley’s moon-faced mascot, the “Spearman,” this terrifying figure once advertised packs of chewing gum in the 1920s. Made of iron with a celluloid face, it bears a worn message on its chest with a slogan that reads: “Be sure it’s Wrigley’s”.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Bronze Faun 🦌 A 19th-century bronze sculpture of a smiling, bearded faun, which may have once served as the foot of a piece of ornate furniture.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Nkisi Kozo Statue ✨ This Bakongo Nkisi Kozo nail fetish dog statue from the Democratic Republic of Congo is a carved wooden power figure in the form of a two headed dog. The doubled heads reflect the belief that dogs could see both spirit and human worlds.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Rat-in-the-box 🐀 Early twentieth-century spring-loaded rat toy covered in fabric, likely a "Rat in the Box" designed to spring out when the box was opened.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

John Wesley 🦴 Painted horse vertebrae were a curious form of folk art from the 18th and 19th centuries. A common trope was to transform vertebrae into figures of John Wesley, arms raised and robes spread, mimicking the Methodist preacher.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Syphilis. This educational model depicts the severe facial effects of late-stage syphilis, a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. If untreated, syphilis can progress over many years, eventually causing extensive tissue damage.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Upstairs in the Museum of Curiosities, you'll discover deep-sea horrors like this handsome fellow. 🌊

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Sad Zebra 🦓 This young zebra died in a German zoo in the early 20th century. Each zebra has a completely unique stripe pattern, much like a human fingerprint.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Jenny Haniver ⚓ A Jenny Haniver is the dried, modified carcass of a ray or skate, shaped to resemble a fantastical creature such as a demon or dragon. From the 16th century, they were collected by sailors and enthusiasts as curiosities and displayed in cabinets of oddities.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Cold-painted bronze sculpture of a cat killing another cat, likely by Franz Xaver Bergmann (1861-1936).

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Hardee's Fries Advertising Statue. 🍟 On display at the Museum of Curiosities, Dublin.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Deformed mermaid 🧜‍♀️ Specimen recovered by a fisherman off the coast of a Caribbean island. The subject is a two-headed infant mermaid, exhibiting bifurcated cranial development.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

This horned Asmat skull, decorated with shells, originates from Papua New Guinea. It was used in rituals to honour ancestors and ward off spirits.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Turtle Boy 🐢 A curious half-turtle, half-boy hybrid was discovered on the Galápagos Islands during a long-forgotten expedition. The finding followed a series of unusual discoveries in the region, including the Komodo dragon and the marine iguana.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Dodo Skeleton 🦤 This is a cast made from a real dodo skeleton in France, though even this skeleton would have been assembled from bones of multiple dodos, as complete skeletons are exceptionally rare.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Sheep Lady. 🐑 I found this in a charity shop one day. I should not have taken it home. Things were never the same.

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Museum of Curiosities @curiositiesmuseum.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The Snagfish 🐟 A hideous, man-faced deep-sea dweller accidentally fished out of the depths of the ocean, horrifying all who witnessed the spectacle.

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