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Cabinet of Curiosities - A Kunstkammer Collection CAPTION IMAGE - Joseph Arnold (1646-1674/75), The Kunstkammer of the Regensburg Ironmonger and Manufacturing Family of Dimpfel, dated: 1668, Ulm, Ulmer Museum, inv. no.: 1952.2611 (Photo: Oleg Kuchar, copyright Ulmer Museum). "It had embossed on its surface the entire history of the world and mankind. Its wondrousness derived from the cumulative effect of diverse subjects and details and from the bringing together in one space apparently dissimilar things." This is how Homer described the shield of Achilles, the legendary Greek hero of the Trojan War. Such a mystical object could have been the keynote piece of a cabinet of curiosities of the sixteenth century. However, Homer's description could also be used to summarize the theoretical concept of such rooms: Cabinet of Curiosities, in German Kunstkammer ("art-room") or Wunderkammer ("wonder-room"), display an encyclopedic range of objects of dissimilar origin and diverse materials on a global scale. Contemporary terminology would categorize these objects as belonging to natural history, geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art and antiquities. The term 'cabinet of curiosities' has changed meaning over the centuries and can be misleading to modern ears, as originally these cabinets did not denote a piece of furniture but, as can been seen from the literature and engravings of past collections, the room that these great collections were housed in. The earliest pictorial record of a cabinet of curiosities is an engraving of the interior of Ferrante Imperato depicted in his Dell'Historia Naturale (Napels 1599). The engraving showcases an extraordinary room of floor to ceiling objects and curiosities including stuffed mammals and birds, preserved fishes, curious shells, specimens of corals and minerals and other artifacts, that all served to validate the apothecary's deep knowledge of natural history. Olaus Wormius (1588-1654), and Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), known as Ole Worm, created two of the most celebrated 17th century cabinets. They filled these them with both natural history objects, such as preserved animals, horns, tusks, skeletons, minerals, and man-made objects, including sculptures, ethnographic specimens from exotic locations and clockwork automata, collected during exploring expeditions and trading voyages. In 1587 Gabriel Kaltemarckt instructed Christian I of Saxony that three types of items were indispensable when forming a Kunstkammer: sculptures and paintings (or arteficialia); secondly 'curious items from home or abroad'; and thirdly 'antlers, horns, claws, feathers and other things belonging to strange and curious animals' (or naturalia). Whilst curiosity collections were a celebration of both natural and manmade beauty, as science developed the ability of man to dominate nature, in the form of astrolabes, clocks, automatons, and other scientifica, became a common feature of many cabinets. Kunstkammer were naturally limited to those who could afford to create and maintain them. The most famous of them all was that of Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor who ruled from 1576 until 1612, which formed the basis of the collection now housed at the recently renovated Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The collection is regarded as a celebration of the world, its task to transmit knowledge and enchant and overwhelm with gold, bronze, ivory, and wooden beauty, as well as exotic elements such as ostrich eggs, the horn of the legendary unicorn, and Benvenuto Cellini's Saliera. Some of the other greatest examples are the Kunstkamera founded by Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg in 1727 and the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vaults) formed by Augustus the Strong in Dresden. In addition to the most famous and best documented cabinets of monarchs and the aristocracy, members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe also formed cabinet collections. Over time greater emphasis was put on ordering and categorizing these rooms and they often turned into the museums, such as the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the British Museum in London (see the glorious Grenville Library), and the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. These placed an increasing focus on individual objects and their specific place in history, in contrast to the original interest in juxtaposing objects of different textures and times to create a stimulating whole. Yet perhaps there is still something in human nature that prefers oddness, serendipity and the impact of these juxtapositions to regimented display. It is the apparent lack of rational classification, with its bizarre sense of accumulation that makes the present collection so appealing. It is easy to detect the all-encompassing love and passion for objects, and discerning taste, of the owners, in the great variation of their collection and the innovative and beautiful methods of their displays. That such cabinets have had a continued appeal over the centuries is perhaps due to the clear delight they bring to their owner, and his or her joy in sharing this with their guests and visitors. The current offering is a wonderful chance for collectors to provide the objects with a new context that will contribute to and compliment their already rich history. (Further reading: O. Impey and A. MacGregor, eds., The Origins of Museums: The Cabinet of Curiosities in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Europe, Oxford 1985)

A FRENCH IVORY DIPTYCH SUNDIAL

LATE 17TH CENTURY, DIEPPE

Details

A FRENCH IVORY DIPTYCH SUNDIAL
LATE 17TH CENTURY, DIEPPE
The outer face of the upper leaf with circular equinoctial hour dial labelled 1-12, the inner, and polar dial labelled 8-12-4, face of the upper leaf with silver lunar volvelle, the scales labelled, the inner face of the lower leaf with horizontal compass dial with blued-iron needle with brass cap, the base with paper covering showing the latitudes of towns and cities, divided around the edge into four quadrants
3 in. (7.6 cm.) high, when open

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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