Matthias Merkel Hess

Small pottery containers and figurines are among the ritual objects made throughout northeastern Tanzania for use in sacred practices, called ughanga, that are important in healing physical and psychological afflictions and misfortunes. Ughanga is, in fact, a multifaceted and adaptive institution that pervades much of society in northeastern Tanzania, and ughanga objects such as this receptacle hold medicines and in some cases embody spirits that can be called upon to aid in treatment. The medicines are made by traditional healers, called waghanga, who are expert herbalists and the keepers of cultural knowledge, history, and custom. They may administer their mixtures in a straightforward fashion or in conjunction with prayer, with the singing and dancing of spirit songs, and in ritual performances that unite all of these facets and allow the healer to engage with spirits and ancestors. This small container is powerful in its rudimentary form. The small hole at its top was probably once plugged with a wooden stopper. Gift of Keith Achepohl

Medicine Container (Nkhoba) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/185710/

Two fragments from a Paracas mantle woven in red and brown with skeletal human figures holding fans or tumi knives. Larger fragment with face is "a"; smaller fragment with full figure is "b".

Textile Fragment with Skeletal Figure https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/37098

I’ve tried to find a way to turn off videos but I don’t think it exists

Insignia Badge with Snow-Leopard Decoration: polychrome silk-floss embroidery in satin stitch on a dark blue silk damask ground and gold thread border

For #InternationalSnowLeopardDay :
Insignia Badge with Snow-Leopard Decoration
Korean, Chosŏn dynasty, 19th c.
H. 21.5 x W. 18.8 cm (8 7/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
Harvard Art Museums 2002.254:
harvardartmuseums.org/collections/...
#SnowLeopardDay

Opening Oct 17 2025 at Art Cake in Brooklyn, NY

At the 96th St Q train and Hudson Yards stations, there’s just so much space. Not sure for what

Had a student ask me “what’s your Starbucks order” and i was like 🤷🏻‍♂️. So many other better options

More info: www.instagram.com/split_level_...

5 gallon bucket ceramic sculpture with maroon and white glaze on brown clay

Maroon and white crawl glaze on a stoneware 5 gallon bucket sculpture by Matthias Merkel Hess

Detail of a new stoneware 5 gallon bucket. See it next week Oct 2-4 at the new Split Level Art Fair in Manhattan with Morgan Lehman Gallery.

Happy Friday to our fellow #FindsFriday enthusiasts! 🏺

This week has left us feeling like this 18th c. BCE Syrian figurine...

Always an honor to work with Studio Valle de Valle on their projects. We collaborated on this fireplace surround and I also made the tiles for the table. Honored to see it on the cover of AD

Be dazzled!
Charles Burchfield, "Gateway to September", 1945-1956, Watercolor on joined paper, 42 1/2" x 56"

The Political Awakening of the Oyster Farmer Gunning for Susan Collins Graham Platner’s campaign launch has been a sudden sensation. But what he’s building now is rooted in the work of a lifetime.

This story has it all: aquaculture, Black Flag, Bernie Sanders, Star Trek as policy, John Hodgman, male tears, and a candidate citing Luthen’s monologue from Andor.

Meet Graham Platner, the Maine oysterman trying to crack the senate. @grahamformaine.bsky.social

newrepublic.com/article/1996...

Gift of Bruce J. Graham

Vessel in the Form of an Animal with Four Legs and Long Tail https://www.artic.edu/artworks/22350/

Muji?

My kid did the scavenger hunt today with a friend. So cool! Still in high school and he was out knocking on doors during the primary too.

ABC 7 is here, and I saw the NY Times talking to folks too.

It’s just unbelievable what a savvy (and fun!) idea this scavenger hunt was on the part of the Mamdani campaign.

#ZcavengerHunt

Gift of David and Julia Loebel

Handle Spout Vessel in the Form of a Seated Man Carrying a Jar https://www.artic.edu/artworks/3631/

Photo of a 3 Mile Island souvenir lamp with a picture of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor on the shade and the base made to look like a cooling collar with Three Mile Island written on it I don't know the photographer or the source for this

Thought this combo was nice

Given the increasing authoritarianism in the UK, and threats against peaceful protest, I’m reminded of this project by Tamás St. Turba, Czechoslovak Radio in 1968. As possessing a radio was banned, he painted bricks to look somewhat like them, which were then banned also.

A clay vessel with an owl devouring a snake

And this vessel with an owl eating a snake is just utterly fantastic. It would have been produced sometime before 800 AD.

Auctioning today: www.ragoarts.com/auctions

George Ohr earthenware vase with red bulbous bottom, twisted middle and cylindrical neck with pink, green, black and red glazes

George Ohr, Vase, glazed earthenware, 1895-1903

Blue Flowerpot

Blue Flowerpot, 1885 #artbots #cezanne
https://botfrens.com/collections/43/contents/12480

Ozzy Osbourne, Rock God Despite Himself (1948–2025) The Prince of Darkness, who gave us heavy metal as we know it, has been laid to rest.

I wrote about John “Ozzy” Osbourne—a working class lad made good, who rose from a slaughterhouse killing floor to the highest echelons of rock stardom in spite of himself, who gave us heavy metal and left a more complex legacy than many realize—for @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/cult...

A late 19th century gift basket is woven with brilliant red and yellow feathers and features buoyant black feathers all around the rim.

I am so here for Pomo feather baskets. The craft! The colors! The flamboyance!

This one is a c. 1895 gift basket from the collection of the de Young.
www.famsf.org/artworks/gif...

🤘🏻