Bos, Pauline (Author)
The Amsterdam pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665--1736) gathered in his collection of curiosities a large and diverse range of specimens and objects, which aroused widespread admiration and interest. His collection consisted largely of exotic natural objects that were sent from overseas to contacts in the Dutch Republic. This method of gathering implied that a collector's network of contacts with overseas travelers had a great impact on the composition of a cabinet. This article examines what Seba, in his descriptions, says about his network of contacts. This network indeed consisted mostly of people staying in exotic areas. The analyses brought to light that especially the quality, but also as the quantity of Seba's contacts, were determining factors in the formation of his collection. Seba, in his Thesaurus, lists a large number of areas of origin of his specimens. However, there are significant differences in the number and type of objects coming from certain areas. Seba's descriptions vary also considerably in length and content. They reflect the social nature of the production of knowledge in the early modern period, as these descriptions are based on a wide range of heterogeneous sources. This implies that collections of rarities may not be treated without reservation as an established and well-thought corpus of knowledge, but the contingent content and manner of formation of these cabinets need to be taken into account.
...More
Article
Kinukawa, Tomomi;
(2013)
Learned vs. Commercial? The Commodification of Nature in Early Modern Natural History Specimen Exchanges in England, Germany, and the Netherlands
(/isis/citation/CBB001320518/)
Book
Margócsy, Dániel;
(2014)
Commercial Visions: Science, Trade, and Visual Culture in the Dutch Golden Age
(/isis/citation/CBB001422029/)
Book
Arthur MacGregor;
(2019)
Company Curiosities: Nature, Culture and the East India Company, 1600–1874
(/isis/citation/CBB007862581/)
Article
Daszkiewicz, Piotr;
Edel, Philippe;
(2014)
The Will of Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus (1776--1827), an Interesting Nineteenth-Century Natural History Document
(/isis/citation/CBB001321134/)
Article
Mascha Hansen;
(2022)
Queen Charlotte's scientific collections and natural history networks
(/isis/citation/CBB932302959/)
Article
Knoeff, Rina;
(2015)
Touching Anatomy: On the Handling of Preparations in the Anatomical Cabinets of Frederik Ruysch (1638--1731)
(/isis/citation/CBB001422112/)
Article
Gerard Thijsse;
(2018)
A Contribution to the History of the Herbaria of George Clifford III (1685–1760)
(/isis/citation/CBB371269926/)
Article
Schmutzer, Kurt;
(2012)
Metamorphosis between Field and Museum: Collections in the Making
(/isis/citation/CBB001210371/)
Article
S. Strekopytov;
(2017)
Wolfgang Helmgard Von Hohberg (1612–1688) and John Woodward (1665–1728): First Records of Using Arsenic and Mercury for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
(/isis/citation/CBB782117884/)
Chapter
Huisman, Tim;
(2011)
Layers of Meaning, from Scientific Instrument to Exhibition at the Museum Boerhaave
(/isis/citation/CBB001200095/)
Article
Pooley, Simon;
(2009)
Jan van Riebeeck as Pioneering Explorer and Conservator of Natural Resources at the Cape of Good Hope (1652--62)
(/isis/citation/CBB001231347/)
Article
Theodore W. Pietsch;
Hans Aili;
(2023)
Peter Artedi's “Manuscriptum ichthyologicum”, a source for Albertus Seba's Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descriptio (1759)
(/isis/citation/CBB595550329/)
Chapter
William G.J. Edwards;
(2019)
The Importance of Specimen Collections and Medical Museums
(/isis/citation/CBB279917410/)
Book
Seba, Albertus;
(2001)
Cabinet of Natural Curiosities: Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri 1734--1765
(/isis/citation/CBB000641171/)
Book
Susanne Köstering;
(2018)
Ein Museum für Weltnatur: Die Geschichte des Naturhistorischen Museums in Hamburg
(/isis/citation/CBB080940339/)
Article
Murphy, Kathleen S.;
(2013)
Collecting Slave Traders: James Petiver, Natural History, and the British Slave Trade
(/isis/citation/CBB001320636/)
Chapter
Ashley J. Inglehart;
(2018)
Filippo Buonanni and the Kircher Museum
(/isis/citation/CBB074439858/)
Book
Eva Dolezel;
(2018)
Ordnen - Vernetzen - Vermitteln: Kunst- und Naturalienkammern der Frühen Neuzeit als Lehr- und Lernorte
(/isis/citation/CBB916430479/)
Article
Thomas, Jennifer;
(2011)
Compiling “God's great book [of] universal nature”: The Royal Society's Collecting Strategies
(/isis/citation/CBB001200258/)
Article
P. Daszkiewicz;
(2017)
The Decline and Closure of Maison Verreaux as Indicated by Władysław Taczanowski's Letters
(/isis/citation/CBB148886831/)
Be the first to comment!