Wonder Cabinets
I can never forget that this blog is public, it’s always just there in the back of my mind as I write an entry or bookmark links to drop here later; that’s part of the reason that I chose the name Wunderkammen because I knew that my interests noted here and there would be on display to anyone who cared to look. It seemed like the perfect fit because just like a wunderkammer in the 17th century there wouldn’t be any rhyme or reason to each entry sitting next to the other, just my own personal whim would be enough. Random thoughts captured in amber or a link to one site, maybe a picture. My collection.
I’ve always loved grotesques, natural specimen collections and reliquaries. It’s what led me down the road to my fascination with autopsies and old medical equipment. For the uninitiated a grotesque is usually a painting or model of a natural scene with taxidermied animals in action poses bringing a story, poem or fairy tale to life. One of the most famous was done by Walter Potter called Who Killed Cock Robin? You can see his work at one of my favorite sites a case of curiosities. Reliquaries are a different sort altogether; they’re part treasure box, part shrine. Small shadowboxes or other creative enclosures, they hold old memories or pieces of religious artifacts. They can be incredibly ornate or very simple. My favorite are the ornate kind and I would love these by Karen’s Whimsy.
There’s something eerie about collections of animal teeth or pinned butterflies sitting next to a bottle of perfume and a triptych. These personal museums, sometimes whole rooms in someone’s home ages ago told you everything about a person just by what they kept. I think that’s what blogs are now and definitely what I aspire to with this blog. I keep a list of my favorite sites like this in my blogroll and I spend a lot of time going back and forth between links. Feel free to follow suit.
Meanwhile my next entry will most likely be on perfume or art or whatever suits my fancy. Happy New Year!
Photo from Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Natural Curiosities