Tag Archives: Knowledge

B. Besler, Fascicvlvs Rariorvm Et Aspectv Dignorvm […], Nürnberg 1622

“Sensing the Naturalienkabinett”

By Lisa Brunner, MA

Full title: Sensing the Naturalienkabinett. Apothecaries and their Collections in Early Modern Germany

Stepping into an early modern Naturalienkabinett was a unique (sensory) experience: exotic fruits of every shape and colour hanging from the ceiling, winding snakes on wooden walls, and countless boxes filled with minerals and shells.

During this period, not only aristocrats, clergy, and scholars curated sophisticated collections but also apothecaries. Figures like Basilius Besler or Johann Ambrosius Beurer crafted these cabinets to reflect the expanding European knowledge of nature and engage multiple senses. Their collections, rich with exotic and regional specimens, were designed not just for display but as interactive tools for scientific education. By utilizing collection catalogues, correspondence, and images, apothecaries made complex scientific knowledge accessible to a diverse audience. These cabinets acted as dynamic contact zones, promoting knowledge exchange and cross-cultural interactions. The PhD project explores these strategies of knowledge transfer and the role of material culture in early modern science.

Personal website (Universität Innsbruck)

Project Instagram

Logo of Recipes Project. Food, Magic, Art, Science, and Medicine

The Recipes Project. Food, Magic, Art, Science, and Medicine

By Dr. Amanda E. Herbert, Dr. R. A. Kashanipour, Dr. Sarah Peters Kernan, Dr. Joshua Schlachet, Dr. Jessica Clark, and Dr. Melissa Reynolds

The Recipes Project is a collaborative international research community that brings together and showcases interdisciplinary research on recipes across broad temporal and geographic spans, from the ancient Mesoamerica to twentieth-century Belgium, and from postwar Japan to medieval Egypt. We cover a range of thematic areas, including the history of medicine and science, food history, studies of magic, art and making, and digital technologies and literacies. We also provide resources for anyone interested in searching for and studying historic recipes, and we highlight the wonderful ways in which community members use recipes in teaching and learning. Founded by Elaine Leong and Lisa Smith in 2012, the Recipes Project now features the work of hundreds of international contributors from many different career pathways and stages. We publish quarterly issues on set themes and are always interested in welcoming more contributors to our community.

Project Blog (Hypotheses)

Project X / Twitter and Instagram

Photography of trees and grass in a forest.

“The Invention of Landscape as Context”

By Dr. Luc Wodzicki

Full title: The Invention of Landscape as Context: Sensory Perception, Aesthetics, and Politics of Knowledge in the Early Modern Period [German: Die Erfindung der Landschaft als Kontext: Sinneswahrnehmung, Ästhetik und politisches Wissen in der Frühen Neuzeit]

The project ‘The Invention of Landscape as Context’ posits that the concept of landscape in the Early Modern period emerged not solely from evolving ideals but was shaped more significantly by the assumed impact of the landscape as a context for things, places, and events. It illustrates how sensory perceptions, aesthetic interpretations, and political knowledge interacted to conceive of landscapes not merely as physical spaces, but as dynamic spheres of influence that shaped the thoughts and actions of contemporaries.

Project Website (FU Berlin)