Symposium explores 16th-century cabinets of curiosities

Cabinets of curiosities or Chambers of Art and Wonder (Kunst-und Wunderkammern) were collections of notable objects. Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art, and antiquities. The classic cabinet of curiosities emerged in the sixteenth century, although more rudimentary collections had existed earlier. In addition to the most famous and best documented cabinets of rulers and aristocrats, members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe formed collections that were precursors to museums. Cabinets of curiosities served not only as collections to reflect the particular curiosities of their curators but also as social devices to establish and uphold rank in society.  

Through the lenses of both the histories of art and the histories of science, the “Prudence and Curiosity in the Early Modern Collection” symposium will explore the political relationship between statecraft and art. Heads of state spent fortunes on building cabinets of curiosity. Yet curiosities, by definition, had no purpose. From the perspective of new conceptualizations of the state, why have a cabinet of curiosity? For many, the answer lies in the cultivation of prudence. 

Today, prudence and curiosity might sound like opposite traits; one seeks to reign in our behavior, making us careful and above all thrifty, while the other pushes us outward, always seeking novelty and excitement. Yet, in the early modern period in Europe, these two traits intertwined. As a form of political thinking, prudence enjoyed a rising star following the advent of Machiavelli’s realpolitik. The culture of collecting curiosity objects prized wondrous and surprising “monsters” and “sports” of nature and ingenious works of art. These curiosities did not correspond at all to what one might assume to be true about the world based on rational, abstract systems. They challenged a prior cultural dominion that prized nature over artifice, constancy over mutability, and logic over experience.  

Political theorists encouraged the heads of states to consider the state as though it were itself a work of art. Collections of curiosities thus came to seem not just entertaining, but useful to the state as well. Showpieces of the most extraordinary abilities and discoveries of humankind, collections offered training in the development of the key political traits of observation and ingenuity. They also suggested how counsel and artistry might transform the state, expanding its powers and resources as never before, just as artists transformed nature. 

The symposium has been organized by Vera Keller, History, and is cosponsored by the OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities. It will take place on Friday, October 21, 2022, at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Five distinguished scholars from across the U.S. will present papers and there will be roundtable discussions after the morning and afternoon sessions. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception. For the complete schedule go to blogs.uoregon.edu/collecting.