Q & A with Ryan Matthew What's the oddest item that is most requested in the shop? To me, it's not the oddest necessarily, but people ask for genuine shrunken heads all the time. But not only are they thrown off by the items' rareness but also by the price attached to them. They can be VERY expensive. What's the highest price/oddest item you've ever sold? Probably a mummified Peruvian elongated human head. It was on the expensive side, at $8,000, but truly remarkable. What item do you dream of finding? I would absolutely LOVE to own one of the two-headed baby skeletons that belonged to the famous 17th-century anatomist Frederik Ruysch (the skeletons were later given to the collection of Peter the Great). Actually, anything from his personal collection would be suitable. I think they may now live in the Vrolik Museum collection in Amsterdam. What items freak you out? Anything infested with bugs!!! What was your oddest customer experience? We have had many peculiar people enter the doors of Obscura -- it's hard to pinpoint one in particular. Strange folks come in all the time trying to sell us objects; perhaps sometimes it's hard to tell what is stranger; the object or the seller. What are some of the strangest items a customer has ever requested? Somebody was looking for male genitalia in formaldehyde. |
advertisement
More Oddities
|
-
our sites
-
video
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
