Category Archives: Museum Lust

Primitive scientific ephemera, analytical analog baubles, and old dead things.

Half a million buys a lot of bones

Posted on April 17, 2007 by cicada

Mammoth skeleton sets auction record – Boston.com On Monday, a rare Siberian mammoth skeleton sold for nearly half a million dollars at auction. The skeleton was inexplicably named “The President.” A number of other curiosity-cabinet staples, like a bezoar, also … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Museum Lust, Science, Wonder Cabinets | 2 Comments

Medical school unloads more art

Posted on April 14, 2007 by cicada

Portrait of Benjamin H. Rand Thomas Eakins, 1874 This time around, there wasn’t much controversy. The Philadelphia medical school that sold Thomas Eakins’ The Gross Clinic has now sold a second Eakins from its collection, Portrait of Benjamin H. Rand. … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Museum Lust | Comments Off

A barrage of art/book links

Posted on April 3, 2007 by cicada

Le Mont Solaire Mont Saint-Michel, 2006 Things are getting away from me, so here’s a list of especially good art & book links I’ve collected from the past week. One of my favorite blogs, Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society, … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Books, Littademia, Museum Lust | 2 Comments

Home decorating with lost masterpieces

Posted on April 2, 2007 by cicada

Last year, two missing altarpieces by Fra Angelico were discovered in Oxford. You’d think they’d have been tucked away in a forgotten treasure room at the Bodleian or something, but no, they were hanging behind the guest bedroom door in … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Books, Museum Lust | 4 Comments

Vampire Hunting, Victorian-Style

Posted on March 15, 2007 by cicada

A vampire-hunting kit, from Thomas Sandberg’s Wonder Cabinet: An incredible Victorian novelty. Complete in mahogany box with revolver, silver bullets, garlic powder, silver dagger, ivory cross, mirror, Professor Blomberg`s New Vampire Serum, wooden stake, etc. Fortunately, Clive Thompson assures us … Continue reading →

Posted in Museum Lust, Wonder Cabinets | 3 Comments

Not Pleistocene, Not a Skeleton

Posted on March 2, 2007 by cicada

Pleistocene Skeleton Steel, wax, marble dust, and acrylic Nancy Graves, 1970 Smithsonian Museum of American Art Last fall I visited the newly renovated Smithsonian Museum of American Art. One of my favorite pieces was this sculpture by Nancy Graves. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Museum Lust, Science | 4 Comments

Amazing, Rare Things; Amazing, Rare Man

Posted on February 28, 2007 by cicada

Common or ‘spectacled’ caiman and South American false coral snake Maria Sibylla Merian, c.1705-10 The Royal Collection: Amazing Rare Things There is a common denominator that links all these artists. It is the profound joy that all feel who observe … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Film, Video & Music, Museum Lust, Science, Wonder Cabinets | 1 Comment

The most beautifully obscure library in the world?

Posted on February 16, 2007 by cicada

Just looking at this photostream makes me feel like I’m in an Umberto Eco novel! This is the Real Gabinete Portugues de Leitura (Royal Portuguese Reading Room) in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Founded in 1837 with books sent over from … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Museum Lust | 3 Comments

Juxtaposition

Posted on January 28, 2007 by cicada

59 People and 1 Cat Fabric and Photo Transfer Camille Whiteman Wooden case containing sixty small phrenological heads plaster and wood William Bally, 1831

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Museum Lust, Science | Comments Off

Wombs, Waxes and Wonder Cabinets

Posted on January 5, 2007 by cicada

This essay has been reposted at the new bioephemera, Feb 19, 08. Anatomical Teaching Model of a Pregnant Woman Stephan Zick, 1639-1715 Wood and ivory Kunstkammer Georg Laue is a Munich antique/art gallery informed by the sensibility of the “wonder … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Museum Lust, Wonder Cabinets | 14 Comments