<DIV><p>Reflecting their owner's taste and serving as an impressive exhibition room for their visitors, cabinets of curiosities were a place of interest in the houses of the wealthy in the 16th an 17th centuries.</p><p>Rare vegetable and animal species, fossils, those cabinets were always dedicated to science and knowledge. By collecting the most uncommon and beautiful things nature ever produced, rich noblemen were able to build a microcosm expressing the diversity of God's creation.</p></DIV>