Friday, May 20, 2016
Boerhaave Museum: Cabinets of Curiosity Up Close and Personal
On Thursday, May 19, we headed to Leiden to visit the Boerhaave Museum. Although most people would get a tour of the actual museum with context already present, we were given a tour of the museums collection in storage since the museum was closed for renovation. I was worried about the value of the tour at first, but once I entered a particular room, I would not forget my time there. As our tour guide opened the door and turned on the lights, we were surrounded by jars full of random insects, body parts, and animals. Although these jars were made in the 16th and 17th century, they still contained their lively appearance as though they were just stored. This struck me immediately since my research was on Frederik Ruysch, who developed the ground breaking method of preserving these items. Frederik Ruysch did it so well that he developed a large collection of these preserved items, or "cabinets of curiosities," that he eventually sold for a fortune. Reading about his specimens was one thing, but seeing these preserved specimens up close really made me realize how amazing the method must have been and how breathtaking the cabinet of curiosities would have been. In conclusion, the museum's collection was amazing and exceeded my expectations!
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I personally think i lost friends sending all the snapchats of the jars in that room. It was really creepy to see the jar that had a big toe in it and the jar that contained an entire hand.
ReplyDeleteI was with a different group, so I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see these specimens. However, my group did get to spend a great deal of time admiring Leeuwenhoek's microscopes. Despite the museum being in storage, going there was an experience I will never forget. I highly doubt anyone will ever have the same oppurtunity, and for that I am both awe stricken and eternally grateful.
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