Marvels from the worlds of art, natural curiosities, and ethnographic ‘exotica’ could all be found in the Wunderkammern or cabinets of curiosities established by members of the aristocracy, (mostly) gentlemen scientists, and wealthy merchants from the mid-sixteenth century onwards. In 1587 Gabriel Kaltemarckt advised Christian I of Saxony of three indispensable categories of item needed for a Kunstkammer: firstly sculptures and paintings; secondly "curious items from home or abroad"; and thirdly "antlers, horns, claws, feathers and other things belonging to strange and curious animals.” (2)

These collections of items were regarded as a microcosm of the known (and unknown) world and became popular during Europe’s age of expansion, which saw far-off lands ‘discovered’ and science challenge religion’s iron grip on the production of knowledge. They also projected a sense of the worldliness and status of their owners and as seen in the the quotes from Quiccheberg and Kaltemarckt, promoted a world that was able to be assessed, measured, and categorised.