T. Yu. Yureneva

The paper analyzes the emergence and development of natural history chambers in Western Europe as harbingers of a new type ofknowledge based on sensual experience and experiment. Such natural history chambers as those established under the auspices of Accademia dei Lincei or the Royal Society were much more than mere collections ofnatural curiosities; they became the centers of experimental study of nature and set the new, research-oriented, standards of collection making.