Wunderkammer
- The Chamber of Wonders
The
word 'wunderkammer' translates as 'wonder-chamber'. The term is
German, although collections of curiosities have existed in Italy
since as early as the 16th century. These were the first museums
and housed both the familiar museum fare such as natural specimens,
minerals and coins, as well as more aberrant and miraculous objects
such as religious reliquaries, double apples, 'mermaids' and the
like.
This Wunderkammer is both a museum and
a retail store. The shop specialises in science and natural history.
In the collection are antique botanical prints, anatomical models,
specimens preserved in vintage glass canisters, fossils, medical
instruments, beetles and butterflies in hand blown specimen domes:
the scope of Wunderkammer is as broad as the scope of human scientific
enquiry. The owners of Wunderkammer, Igor Listkiewicz and Heather
Marsh, choose the objects for the collection based on standards
of beauty, rarity, historical or educational value and, of course,
the ability to inspire wonder. |
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