Search results

Start typing

Frans Francken the Younger was the most famous of an Antwerp dynasty of painters; he trained with his father, Frans the Elder (1542-1616), and joined the Antwerp guild in 1605. He was a painter of religious and historical subjects as well as being the inv
Wunderkammer: Cabinet of Curiosities

'Rooms of wonder' showcase a collector's knowledge of the world

DAVID ROBERTS (1796-1864)

The Inauguration of the Great Exhibition: 1 May 1851

Signed and dated 1854

RCIN 407143

Under Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the public nature of the Collection was emphasised all the more. Albert's great scheme for a Universal Exhibition to be held in 1851 in London was in essence a recreation of Quiccheberg's theatre of wisdom on a vast and glorious scale. The Crystal Palace was itself a cabinet of curiosities where the knowledge of the day could be encompassed within one room. Albert's vision was to show the fruits of the earth – its minerals, plants, fauna and anomalies - alongside the works wrought by man, both artistic and scientific.


    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.