The origins of the museum

In the 16th and 17th centuries, wealthy Europeans increasingly created cabinets of curiosities in which they collected works of art, stones, plants, skeletons, literature and glass objects, for example. Their goal was to scientifically order the world and to depict it in all its diversity. Especially Dutch collectors could show high numbers of rarities, because the Netherlands was the predominant sea power and had many colonies. Curator Diva Zumaya developed the exhibition The World Made Wondrous: The Dutch Collector's Cabinet and the Politics of Possession for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It is a fictional cabinet of curiosities modeled after real collections, with over 300 objects. An interactive exhibition guide facilitates access to the complex exhibition with a wealth of background information; the texts have been recorded by contemporary artists, historians and indigenous activists. Visitors can experience the show from September 17, 2023 to March 3, 2024.

Zumaya wants to shed more light on the connections between capitalism and colonialism, which are also reflected in the cabinets of curiosities, and to review the previous historiography in more detail. This aspect is important to her because the first public museums emerged from the cabinets of curiosities starting in the 18th century, as did the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In addition to the special approach, the exhibition also features artworks and objects on display for the first time. These include a miniature painting by Francesco da Castella (circa 1540-1621), a large Belgian carpet from the 16th century, and two Chinese cups made from the horn of a rhinoceros.