The Kunstkammer or Wunderkammer is often referred to, in English, as a “cabinet of curiosities.” This term seems to have been generated most directly by collectors’ propensity for acquiring objects whose main attributes were their abnormalities. Such abnormalities might be extreme size (small or large), presumed magical powers (e.g., medicinal herbs), unique origins (e.g., from an ancient burial site), or mythical status (e.g., “unicorn” hor
A fascination with the exotic permeated every aspect of collecting for the Kunstkammer. With the possession of the unusual and distantly sourced came a unique status that labeled the collector as a connoisseur and the collection as a special destination. Assemblages of exotica might include non-Western weapons, musical instruments, pottery, and clothing; Greek or Roman sculptural fragments; African masks; or Islamic manuscripts. By the mid-sixteenth and sev
AKunstkammer often contained animal specimens: taxidermied, dried, ossified; whole or in parts. The specific animals ranged from armadillos, one of the most popular species to collect, to coral and scarabs. The purpose of collecting these specimens varied; for some it was to document the natural history of a particular location and to illustrate the collector’s impressive travel (and perhaps hunting) hist
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