Hidden in plain sight: on copiousness in the Kunstkammer of Emperor Rudolf II.

The Kunstkammer of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552–1612) in Prague was one of early modern Europe's most famed princely collections. Part of this renown stemmed from the collection's abundance of rare, exotic, costly and artfully produced objects. However, Rudolf's Kunstkammer not only contained copious numbers of diverse objects, it also housed many objects that took copiousness (that is, sexual fertility and seasonal productivity) as their subject. This essay considers how copiousness affected the use of Rudolf's collection. In the end, it reveals that copiousness complicated and made difficult the use of Rudolf's collection on both a practical and an interpretative level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]