Cabinet of Curiosities (Kunstkammer)

Cabinets of curiosities (German: Kunstkammer and Kunstkabinett), also known as cabinets of wonder and wonder-rooms (German: Wunderkammer), were collections of notable objects. Although more rudimentary collections had preceded them, the classic cabinets of curiosities emerged in the sixteenth century. The term cabinet originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture. Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art (including cabinet paintings), and antiquities. 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.