Kunstkammer ABC

Cabinets of curiosities or Kunstkammern were spaces, where wealthy patrons brought the wonders of the world together. These rooms featured specimens of natural history, precious materials and man-made objects of incredible artistry. They were windows into how Renaissance and Early Modern collectors perceived what was extraordinary about the world and, therefore, worth collecting.

Museum collections and detailed records give us an idea today of the things that were collected and, with spaces like the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden, even what these chambers looked like. The variety in objects and materials allows for a visualisation of these collections in the form of an ABC-Book, meaning that even the youngest of art enthusiasts can start to appreciate this phenomenon.