Nature can be collected in many forms and shapes: live animals have been locked up in cages, displayed in zoos and menageries, and their hides and dried body parts were used as part of the set-up in galleries and studies. Plants from far-away countries have been cultivated in botanical gardens and in hothouses. Even the depiction of medicinal plants and of prized animals was regarded as an important part of the decorative scheme.Recent research has also shown that artificialia and naturalia were shown side by side in early modern Europe - sometimes in the company of scientifica - and that the...