GERMAN, PROBABLY DANZIG, EARLY 17TH CENTURY

This intriguing amber carving is the type of object that would once have former part of a kunstkammer. Carved sometime during the early 17th century it is unusual in that it incorporates a large piece of uncarved amber that was then adapted into the form of a tortoise with the addition of the carved limbs and head. Thus, in the context of a kunstkammer this sort of object would have had a dual symbolism: first, a representation of the wonderous raw materials found in nature and second, man's skill in shaping them into a study of nature itself.