Alligators and Alchemy in Cabinets of Curiosity

Please join esoteric publisher William Kiesel for coffee and a presentation on Wunderkammern and Alchemy in the appropriately wonderful and odd surroundings of Ancient Grounds Cafe and art gallery.

The Curiosity Cabinet was the forerunner of the contemporary museum. But before public museums existed worldly collections took the form of the Kunstkammer, or art cabinet that was often the privilege of royalty alone. During the Renaissance such collections were filled with natuaralia, artificialia, scientific devices and other art treasures. William Kiesel will give a brief visual presentation displaying some early examples of Curiosity Cabinets and discuss the similarities they share with alchemical laboratories. The slide presentation will take place in one of Seattle’s finest Curiosity Cabinets; Ancient Grounds, where many wonderful objects from around the world, including tribal art, mineral specimens, Japanese and Native American masks, totem poles, intricate architectural carvings, kimonos, articulated skeletons, headdresses and other displays may be viewed while sipping excellent espresso or other beverage before during and after the talk.

What: Visual presentation by Ouroboros Press publisher William Kiesel
Where: Ancient Grounds Cafe
When: March 20, 2010 1pm - FREE [Happy Equinox]

Ancient Grounds Cafe and Art Gallery
1220 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101-2911

Event capacity: 75 – 95 sitting & standing. If you would like to R.S.V.P. click here.



This event is in cooperation with Atlas Obscura and is one drawer in their international showcase of Obscura Day.