The jasper skulls in this Curiosity Cabinet sit on the scale atop the touch-ables table. Jasper, a type of impure silica usually a reddish color, is commonly carved for small sculptures,…
Category: Cabinet
“The Superb Lily” “The Superb Lily,” was donated by Geoff Jackson, class of 1991 and beloved benefactor of Gettysburg College, to Special Collections. This first edition piece was published in the…
A large decorative plaque that currently resides in Special Collections depicts a dramatic defense of the Vatican by Florentine artist Benvenuto Cellini.
Title: Landschaft Mit Einem Fuhwerk und Windmuhle (Landscape with a Wagon and Windmill) Location: Unknown, Potentially Germany or Northern France Date: Mid to Late Nineteenth Century Dimensions: Framed: 27.5×33.5×6 cm, Unframed: 8.5×14.5 cm Donor: The…
As curiosity grew in the Renaissance, so did the scope of collections of wonders. The Cricket Cage, Jade Screen, and Iron Dragon are three examples of rare collection items from the…
Novus Orbis Sive America Meridionalis Et Septentrionalis The map featured in our show, Novus Orbis sive America, was printed in 1730. The engraving measures 50 x 58 centimeters and is…
Presbiteri Iohannis Sive, Abissinorvm Imperii Descriptio The “Presbiteri Iohannis Sive, Abissinorvm Imperii Descriptio,” or “Map of the Kingdom of Prester John,” is a work by Abraham Ortelius, a cartographer, cosmographer,…
Piranesi made prints that show off his view of what the Eternal City looks like, both in its glory and as a decaying monument to past ideals.
The Chinese Carved Ivory Puzzle Balls reference the interest in combing art and nature while designating curiosity in Chinese craftsmanship and imagery affecting a European market.
The time period of wunderkammer opened a plethora of sciences that scholars devoted their lives to. Among these were botany, zoology, ethnography – studies that had already been somewhat…
During the Renaissance, collectors saw Morpho butterflies as beautiful, elegant, and rare creatures. Their exotic origin and sophistication made these fascinating creatures the subjects of scientific observation, decoration, and symbolism.
Perceptions of Fossils During the Renaissance Fossils collected in Renaissance collection cabinets were items of wonder and curiosity. Although sometimes mistaken for other pieces of naturalia, they were widely collected…
Botanical illustrations were an integral facet of botany in the Renaissance era. Many naturalists and physicians studied plants in collections to observe and record the naturalia. In many collections, specimens…
Magnificent in its sheer power and beauty, this owl wing has a wingspan of 18 inches and measures 10 inches from the shoulder bone to the secondary feathers. Wings such…
Quintus Curtius Rufus’ Historia Alexandri Magni (1658) This book would have been created and read during the 1600’s, and throughout the European Enlightenment period. Written in Latin, it was made…
This rhinoceros horn cup from the period of the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) of China shows carvings of animals, from dragons to tortoises. The carving was donated to Gettysburg College Special Collections and Archives by Mr. John H Hampshire.
The Renaissance era, which spanned from the 14th century until the 16th century, served as a transitional period. Considered to…
This authentic Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) plate is a prime example of early export porcelain, a luminous substance that enthralled European collectors.
Abraham Ortelius and Johann Baptist Homann were very successful cartographers who benefitted from the rising trend in curiosity cabinets during the Renaissance. …
Stuffed crocodiles often predominated many famous cabinets, hanging in the center of the ceiling. Crocodilians are the largest reptiles and the largest p redator that spends time on land. They…
Ethiopian magical scrolls are powerful tools to combat sickness and demons in Ethiopian folk belief. As works of art, they display influences from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian sources.
Minerals were displayed in wonder rooms for their beauty and used by apothecaries for their medical properties and artists, for sculptures and pigments.
Two collections of writings, found in the glass cabinet on the left wall of our Wonder Cabinet, contain the descriptions of two travelers’ times abroad during the Grand Tour. The…
The Renaissance was named for the cultural rebirth it witnessed. It meant a decrease in the widespread artistic and scientific suppression of the Middle Ages. As a result, Europeans enjoyed…
While collectors and scientists sought out the rarest and best preserved naturalia for their collections, others sought out and commissioned paintings and other forms of artifice to go beside…
LATIN MANUSCRIPT
This manuscript was written sometime within the Renaissance, and can open up the world of a gentleman to us. Johannes Lampreicht was a banker…
Among the collections cabinets of the Renaissance, fish, in the forms of naturalia and artificialia, can be widely found. They were sought after for their beauty as well as their relation to the natural…
