Wearable Wunderkammer

According to the MOMA catalog description, "Wunderkammern, or cabinets of curiosities, arose in mid-sixteenth-century Europe as repositories for all manner of wondrous and exotic objects. In essence these collections—combining specimens, diagrams, and illustrations from many disciplines; marking the intersection of science and superstition; and drawing on natural, manmade, and artificial worlds—can be seen as the precursors to museums" (http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/). With reprints of popular books like Sebus' Natural Cabinet of Curiosities making such an impression in the design world over the past several years, the metaphorical cabinet has open and more and more people are curious to peek inside...

The MOMA's new exhibit, "Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities," features a range of artists whose work in some way explores the idea of a cabinet of curiosities. Artists include: Hans Bellmer, Peter Blake, Louise Bourgeois, Max Ernst, and Damien Hirst -- each creepy and cool in the best of ways. In expectation of my trip to New York this month and the new exhibit at the MOMA, I did some searching on Etsy for cabinet-of-curiosity-inspired jewelry to satisfy the slightly macabre side of my personality:




Top left: (username) purevile -- Post-Apocalyptic-Victorian accessories --Antler necklace
Top right: (username) OctopusMe -- Jewelry made from real octopus -- Sucker ring
Middle left: (username) Metalsugar -- Deliciously Original Jewelry and Custom Designs -- Cicada ring
Middle right: (username) willworkforbrains --Creepy crawlies and little oddities -- Heart necklace
Bottom left -- (username) aminyitray -- Victorian-insired items -- Sterling silver seaweed necklace
Bottom right -- (username) rivkasmom -- Steampunk jewelry -- Art Nouveau ring