FERDINAND'S TOYS

This wonderful Calvary made entirely of coral is typical of the eccentric and beautiful objects commissioned by Ferdinand of the Tirol, still in his Kunstkammer (or Wunderkammer, cabinet of curiosities or marvels) at Schloss Ambras, Innsbruck, where he lived with his morganatic wife Philippine Welser, a commoner from Augsburg. Both are buried in the Silver Chapel of the Hofkirche in Innsbruck. Ferdinand's great-grandfather was Maximilian I; his brother, Emperor Charles V; his nephew, Rudolph II. Ambras was famous in its day, one of the earliest museums, and much of the collection remains in its superbly atmospheric setting (the finest artworks are now in Vienna.) Here, another coral scene, this time all red coral and mother-of-pearl...

The middle pictures above are details of an amazing, Augsburg-made cabinet in marble on wood, with gilded bronze figures happily waving (the man in the tall cap looks like Hermes Trismegistus, legendary alchemist: perfect for Ferdinand.) Above, figures painted on marble by Hans von Aachen of Prague, where Ferdinand had built himself a Star Castle, its plan a six-pointed Star of David, and where his nephew Rudolph would establish his imperial court. Below, a rhinoceros-horn cup; two writhing snakes carved from rare German stones; a tender, contemplative skeleton in ivory; and a polyhedron toy with reversible heads. They're all toys, really: amusements for an ever-questing, ever-collecting mind.