XML FeedsWunderkabinett and Wunderkammer
By admin on Jul 26, 2010 | In Art Glossary/Definitions | 1 feedback »
Wunderkabinett and Wunderkammer - A Wunderkabinett is most literally a "cabinet of wonders," and a Wunderkammer is a "chamber of wonders," exhibition spaces in which miscellaneous curiosities — odd and wondrous rarities — brought together for private contemplation and pleasure. These words are German, but they are also used by speakers and writers of English because so many of the earliest (16th century) and best examples have been German. The objects on display in these storage/display spaces were marvels of nature. If some or all of the objects were art, then they were more likely to be called Kunstkabinetts and Kunstkammern instead. These precursors of the museum were developments of the Renaissance. The museum, on the other hand, was a creation of the Enlightenment. A rule in writing German is that the first letter of every noun must be capitalized (common as well as proper nouns), so the W's in these words are usually capitalized in English texts. The plural of Wunderkammer is Wunderkammern.
Wunderkabinetts and Wunderkammern very rarely remain today as they were in previous centuries. They are simultaneously pieces of furniture and the collections of objects within them, and naturally the selections of things in them were placed and replaced as their owners decided. The Getty Museum is justly proud of its empty cabinet (and title it Display Cabinet) because this exemplar remains so evocative of the great wonder its viewers must have taken in its presentation.
Examples:
German (Augsburg), 1620-30, Display Cabinet, including three carvings by Albert Jansz. Vinckenbrinck (Dutch, about 1604-1664/65), ebony, chestnut, walnut, pearwood, boxwood, ivory, marble, semiprecious stones, enamel, palm wood, and tortoiseshell, 28 3/4 x 22 7/8 x 23 1/4 inches, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA. This is one of 22 devices in the Devices of Wonder exhibit cataloged online by the Getty Museum — best seen with Flash and RealAudio plugins. See wood.
German, Wunderkammer, 17th century, woodcut. This chamber presented a collection of both art and natural objects. There is an alligator above, displayed as if it were walking on the ceiling!
Related links:
- The Kunst- and Wunderkammern of Ambras Castle in Innsbruck, Austria, houses the collections of Archduke Ferdinand II (1529-1595). The site displays sculptures of mountains sprouting bits of coral, a mechanical gondola, portraits of "Vlad the Impaler" and numerous fantastic creatures.
- Kunstkammer Georg Laue is a Munich gallery which offers Renaissance and Baroque art, including many rare curiosities -- objects made of such exotic materials as coral, ivory, rhinoceros horn, chamois horn, rare woods, silver and gold, such semiprecious stones as rock crystal, serpentine, and many more. Laue's site also has a worthwhile article on the history of Kunstkammern and Wunderkammern by Peter Dreyer. See gold, horn, ivory, serpentine, and silver.
Also see base, Collyers' Mansion, frame, gallery, shadow box, and vitrine.
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