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The Massimo Listri Cabinet of Curiosities volume documents the world's most remarkable collections, spanning natural specimens, ivory trophies, measuring instruments, and automata from the 16th and 17th centuries. Its photography and editorial content guide readers through historic treasuries including the Medici collection and Dresden's Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe), capturing the breadth of each assemblage in detail. Featuring curated imagery alongside cultural context, the book traces the origins and significance of the cabinet of curiosities as a format for ordering natural wonders and rare objects. The result is a comprehensive visual and historical record of these collections and their place in the history of collecting.
Cabinets of curiosities fascinated people of the 16th and 17th centuries. From crocodiles, minerals, and corals to paintings, ivory trophies, measuring instruments, and incredible automata, it was a glimpse into a world full of natural wonders and treasures that aimed to reflect the order of the universe. This magnificent volume takes us through the world’s most beautiful collections, into the Medici treasury or the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) of Dresden, and offers no less than a brief cultural history of the miraculous.
