Artist:G Wingendorp Published by:Isaac Elzevier Title: Ole Worm’s Cabinet of Wonder: Natural Specimens and Wondrous Monsters in Worm’s Museum, or the History of Very Rare Things, Natural and Artificial, Domestic and Exotic, Which Are Stored in the Author’s House in Copenhagen. Date: c. 1655 Location: Dutch Materials: engraving Dimensions: 27.8 centimeters x 35.8 centimeters (11 x 14 in) Rights: Public Domain. Courtesy of The British Museum
The frontispiece by Ole Worm titled Ole Worm’s Cabinet of Wonder: Natural Specimens and Wondrous Monsters is a visually engaging engraving that depicts various animal-like figures as well as many other oddities. The room pictured is filled to the brim with taxidermy, weapons, and various vials and barrels. This piece was made both by and for the colonizer point of view. It circulated in European colonial environments and was made for the viewing pleasure of upper class white men, despite the room being filled with resources from native land. This piece portrays an interesting power dynamic, as it displays the collecting and looting of native resources and as a novelty. Furthermore, the human-like figure in the center right of the image is a humanoid automaton, a mechanical imitation of a human. When it was operated by a hidden wheel, it could move around and pick up objects. The continuous movement led the figure to circle around the cabinet without stopping. The figure is dressed in what was thought to be Native American gear, possibly Inuit as the clothing is similar to an image of an Inuit women from Frobisher Bay that John White created in the late sixteenth century. The women in White's image is named Arnaq (British Museum, 1906.0509.1.30). In 1614 English explorer John Smith led ships to survey the New England coast. As described in Historie of New England, Smith left shipmaster Hunt behind to fish and trade with the Natives, but Hunt saw an opportunity in another kind of trade. He kidnapped 27 Wampanoags and sailed them back to Spain, where he sold what he called “poor innocent souls” into slavery. This humanoid is compared to the way that Arnaq, who was kidnapped and brought back to England, was put on display for the European gaze.
Sources: Hilleary, Cecily. “Enslaved Native Americans Played Central Role in 1600s New England Households.” VOA, Enslaved Native Americans Played Central Role in 1600s New England Households, 27 Jan. 2021, https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_enslaved-native-americans-played-central-role-1600s-new-england-households/6201189.html.
“Ole Worm's Cabinet of Wonder: Natural Specimens and Wondrous Monsters.” Biodiversity Heritage Library, 2 May 2018, https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2017/05/ole-worms-cabinet-of-wonder-natural-specimens-and-wondrous-monsters.html. Wiki entry can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_Cabinet_of_Ole_Worm
About The Author: Jessica is a junior nursing major at Concordia college. When not studying, she spends her time on the college swim team and at the local Crossfit gym. After college she hopes to move to the twin cities to pursue nursing within the family birthing center while continuing to coach swimming.