Welcome! We (my frisky little one and myself) are delighted to be your guides to this unique cabinet of undervalued marvels. In case you did not know, we were painted in 1799 by Louise Thiebaut, who in turn based his painting on drawings and knowledge produced in Peru. We are among the 381 figures that make up the Quadro del Peru, an ingenious tableau of the Peruvian and Hispanic enlightenment, whose significance and very existence has remained practically invisible to the public. In many ways, the elusive Quadro that we inhabit is emblematic of the LAGLOBAL project, which seeks to shed light on the place of the Americas in the global history of knowledge. This cabinet is one means to that end.
As you may have guessed from our somersaults in the air, we like to vary our itinerary each time we visit this cabinet. The objects in the LAGLOBAL cabinet are arranged under three, overlapping headings that mimic the traditional organization of early modern cabinets of curiosity: artificialia, naturalia, and library. We invite you to pursue your own routes and readings, moving within or across the headings. As an example of only one itinerary among many, we would love to show you 7 of our favourite objects. Ready?
Introduction by Mark Thurner
1. Let’s begin at our home, the beautiful QUADRO DEL PERU. When you have a moment, we highly recommend that you read the ‘Introduction’ to the companion book, NEW WORLD OBJECTS OF KNOWLEDGE: A CABINET OF CURIOSITIES . If you prefer to watch a video of the co-authors of the Introduction speaking about this cabinet, please click here.
We also recommend that you visit the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES in Madrid, where we and the Quadro del Peru reside. Although we are not generally available to public viewing in the museum, you can examine us and the rest of the QUADRO DEL PERU in high resolution at the GOOGLE ARTS AND CULTURE platform, here.
2. Our second stop on this brief tour is the CODEX MENDOZA , a fascinating painted manuscript from Mexico now held in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University .
3. Our third stop is a historical map of the mighty Amazon FRITZ MAP OF AMAZON .
4. Time to climb high to the Andes, from which the Amazon flows HUMBOLDT’S CHIMBORAZO .
5. You must be getting hungry by now. Perhaps this Cuzco painting of the Last Supper will whet your appetite: GUINEA PIG LAST SUPPER. Some potatoes with that? POTATOES ARE IMMIGRANTS.For dessert, why not try this NOBLE STRAWBERRY?. Or this WHITE CACAO? .
6. To pay for that luscious meal when in the UK, nothing like some colourful cash from the Bank of England, stamped with DARWIN’S HUMMINGBIRD !
7. Our last stop on this brief tour is BLACK. Please come back and visit us soon! We love to see fashionable visitors who know something of the history of what they wear!
