After 10 years of restoration works, the Kundstkammer Vienna is back to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. This section of the museum, referred to as the Chamber of Art and Wonder, features several collections of rare and unusual objects.
What can be found in this section of the art-historic museum are goldsmith work, sculptures made from bronze, ivory and wood as well as paintings, timepieces, carvings, wall-hangings, coins and weapons. Also on display here are exotic objects including the horn of the legendary unicorn, eggs of the ostrich and the golden Saliera done by Benvenuto Cellini. These unique objects were believed to have magical powers. Some were commissioned while the others were purchased by the emperor or members of the imperial family back then.
Kunstkammer spans 2,717 square meters and is considered the most important collection fo its kind in the world. It is part of the Hasburg treasuries which were assembled in the Middle Ages as well as in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It boasts of more than 2,100 precious objects collected by the emperors and archdukes of the Hadsburg. Among these state leaders were Ferdinand II of Tirol, Emperor Rudolf II, Emperor Francis Joseph I and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.
This Chamber of Art and Wonder closed temporarily in 2002 to give way to renovation works. This months, it reopens to the public with 20 rooms displaying some 2,162 objects.
And here’s an interesting trivia. The oldest object there is a 9th century ivory table while the youngest item is a ceiling painting done in 1891.
