The C a bin et of Curios ities
C u r C u r i o C u r i o u s C u r i o s i t y
A c c o r d i n g to Wikipedia and friends
"A cab i net of curio s ities was an encyclopaedic collection in R e n a i s s a n c e Europe
of
types of objects whose categorial boundaries were yet to be defined.
They were also known by various names such as Cab inet of Wonder,
and in German
Kunstkammer ("art-room") or
Wunderkammer ("wonder-room").
Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to N A T U R A L H i s t o r y - and r a t h e r d e l i ciously (sometimes faked), also known as J ennyes
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| Paul Biddles' Cabinet of Wonder |
E N T E R The L o a f of B r e a d F r u i t complete with feathers dog biscuits and replete with Bishops Tu Tu
"The Kunstkammer was regarded as a microcosm or theater of the world,
and a memory theater. This I yam very interested by
The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture
The Kunstkammer provided a solace and retreat for contem plation or a collection, with a special emphasis on paintings of people with interesting deformities - enter The Queen of Nipples in Paul Biddles Cabinet and also Quentin Massys Queen of Tunis or Naples - not to forget Leonardo’s earlier drawing of a Grotesque - all t h r e e appear to be wearing what I can only describe as a Bull et Brass iere
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| The Queen of Nipples |
You can see Leonardo's wonderful drawing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grotesque_Head.jpg
wondrously small clock work automata - such as the Do Do you see before your very eyes ethnographic specimens of delight strangely reminiscent of tinned fruit on Sunday Afternoons
"antlers, horns, claws, feathers and other unmentionable things belonging to
strange and curious animals"
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| The Mermaid of Prague |
