The Collector's Cabinet and Miniature Pharmacy Published by nai010 publishers/Rijksmuseum.
Text by Paul Van Duin, Reinier Baarsen, Roelof Van Gelder, Annette I. Bierman, Gerhard C. Cadée, Dave Van Gompel. The focus of this wonderfully designed, large-format book is an outstanding 18th-century Dutch cabinet of curiosities from the Rijksmuseum’s extraordinary furniture collection. This cabinet houses a miraculous collection, including a mini-apothecary’s shop filled with more than 300 jars, pots and medicine bottles. Concealed behind the rear wall of the cabinet, 55 secret drawers reveal a varied collection of over 2,000 specimens, including seeds, flowers, roots, resins, ores and a great deal more. The cabinet was probably owned by a wealthy doctor or pharmacist, its contents perhaps intended to amuse a select group of friends, family and other collectors. In this visually stunning publication, the complete contents of this magnificent cabinet are on display for the first time and in almost actual size. Several authors describe the contents of the miniature apothecary’s shop and some of the remarkable remedies it contains, as well as the artful and varied arrangements found in the drawers.
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