cabinet of curiosities

all images via the new york times except 'musei wormiani historia' depicting ole worm's seventeenth century cabinet of curiosities, via wikipedia

this article in the new york times profiles "the new antiquarians"- young brooklynites whose decorating style involves "exhuming the accouterments of the turn-of-the-19th-century leisure class". this aesthetic seems to incorporate some of the interior trends i've been loving in the work of stylists like sibella court and nicole page for a while, such as museological displays of shells, botanical prints and scientific specimens mixed with antique luggage, and the eclectic ephemera associated with romantic travels to distant locales. this style, which centres on the cluttered display of disparate objects, appeals to my bowerbird mindset- no longer must i hide my junk in the name of minimalism! but the new antiquarians seem to take it a step further, reveling in moody interiors that can be more than a little macabre. i'm not sure i fancy sharing my living room with a taxidermied sheep or wall-mounted cow skull, but i'm very keen to acquire the victorian bell jar (though i'll pass on the taxidermied birds and rodent inside); the collection of hats and the wonderful shadow box, with each nook housing a tiny treasure.