I will even man a table there about museology -- or the study of museums -- focusing on curiosity cabinets or “Kunst und Wunder-kammer” (literally 'art and wonder rooms'). These rooms of curiosities reflect the times in which they flourished.
Above: Frans Francken the Younger, Art and Curiosity Collection, early 17th century. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Viena.
The Renaissance saw the world expand -- Europeans travelled to the far off lands of Asia, Africa and the Americas, bringing back things no one had ever seen before. These items, whether shells, animals or clothing, became collector items, just like comic books or baseball cards today.
Above: Taken from Lorenzo Legati, Museo Cospiano, 1677. Marchese Ferdinando Cospi (1606-1686) gave his collection to the city of Bologna in 1657 for the use of scholars.
Collectors then stored these items in cabinets or even entire rooms, organizing them in different ways, from artificial versus natural to place of origin to four elements (earth, air, water, fire). Collectors would often publish guides outlining their methods too.
Above: Etching of Ole Worm's Museum. Taken from Ole Worm (1588-1654), Museum Wormianum; seu, Historia rerum rariorum, tam naturalium, quam artificialium, tam domesticarum, quam exoticarum . . . , 1655.
Head over to The Petroleum Museum on Thursday, May 13th to learn more!
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