中文简介：

这是**部关于早期现代珍奇屋的详尽历史。

“珍奇屋”是一个存放艺术和好奇心的柜子，通常放置在一个专门的房间或一套房间里，柜子里面通常装满了成千上万种奇珍异宝，反映了大自然和人类创造力的丰硕成果。这些物品的范围很广，从雕刻着几十张脸的樱桃核到用犀牛角制成的精致酒杯。无论是作为个人沉思的场所，还是作为其主人财富和声望的体现，这些原始博物馆都让当时的参观者眼花缭乱。本书首次对神圣罗马帝国的主要艺术博物馆的历史、理论、组织和特点进行了深入的比较研究。

英文简介：

Exquisitely illustrated, the first thorough history of these astonishing Early Modern cabinets of curiosities.

Kunstkammer, art and curiosity cabinets housed in a dedicated room or suite of chambers, were often filled with thousands of diverse and sometimes shocking objects reflecting the bounty of nature and human creativity. These could range from a cherry pit carved with dozens of faces to an intricate drinking cup fashioned from a rhinoceros horn. Whether as a setting for personal contemplation or as a manifestation of the wealth and prestige of its owners, these proto-museums dazzled visitors of the time. This book offers the first in-depth comparative examination of the history, theory, organization, and character of the major Kunstkammern in the Holy Roman Empire.