(ACA 76, inv. nr. 606A, series nr. A 90, unpaginated)
Amongst the list of items bequeathed to Cornelis (Pieter and Jacoba’s eldest son), we find a small assortment of curiosities: several horns, including two adorned with engraved black figures and a copper fitting, as well as various sea-horns housed in a wooden box. There was also a drawer filled with minerals, stones, small horns, and other items, along with a collection of eggshells of various sizes and a turtle shell.
The items in this document were coming from the boeken kamer, the comptoir and the camer solder. As they are grouped together by type and not divided by room we can’t be sure that this small gallery of ‘curiosa’ was all in the boeken kamer. However, the fact that such objects are often present in private libraries at that time corroborates the hypothesis that at least part of them was indeed in the library.
The library with its books (amongst which status symbols like the Blaeu’s Atlas) and the small collection of curiosa would have complemented the family portraits and the collection of coins and commemorative medals that were on display in the adjacent room, the groote kamer. Acting as status symbols, these items would have made a statement about the standing and role of this family as part of the Amsterdam patriciate and holding top positions in the VOC.
In the 3D reconstruction, the objects on top of the cupboard are meant to signal this additional presence in this room. A few mathematical instruments and a globe are also recorded in the same document. The globe is here positioned on top of the cupboard (a common position for globes in engravings and paintings), while the mathematical instruments hang on the side of one of the bookcases, as shown in engravings depicting contemporary libraries.
References and further reading:
C. Piccoli, Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707) and his treffelyke bibliotheek (Brill, 2025), chapter 6.
Credits:
Amongst the 'curiosa' 3D objects, I took and modified the following 3D models on sketchfab (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/):
Written by Chiara Piccoli