What does this research mean for the field?

Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes reimagines the traditional cabinet of curiosities as a 'counter-Wunderkammer,' transforming a collecting practice historically tied to aristocratic display and power into an intimate archive of mourning, care, and survival. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how Edmund de Waal’s memoir repurposes the cabinet of curiosities tradition to transform collecting from an aristocratic display of dominion into an ethical practice of mourning.

August 29, 2026European Journal of English Studies

The unlocked vitrine: counter- Wunderkammer and the ethics of collecting in The Hare with Amber Eyes

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Authors

EÖEzgi Gizem Özcan

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Overview

Critical analysis demonstrates how de Waal reframes aristocratic collecting into an intimate practice of mourning and care, highlighting collections as archives of displacement and survival.

Key Points

To examine how Edmund de Waal’s memoir repurposes the cabinet of curiosities tradition to transform collecting from an aristocratic display of dominion into an ethical practice of mourning.
Textual and historical analysis of Edmund de Waal’s memoir The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010).
Critical examination of Charles Ephrussi's nineteenth-century netsuke acquisitions through theories of class aspiration, exoticism, and artisanal labor.
De Waal reframes the collecting tradition away from imperial spectacle toward tactile intimacy, embodied memory, and the restored presence of artisanal makers.
The reopened vitrine functions as a counter-Wunderkammer, establishing an archive centered on displacement, trauma, and survival rather than conquest and ownership.

Cite This Study

Ezgi Gizem Özcan (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9299958e5d7d1fc0c11a05 https://doi.org/10.1080/13825577.2026.2720472

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Ask AI

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August 29, 2026European Journal of English Studies

The unlocked vitrine: counter- Wunderkammer and the ethics of collecting in The Hare with Amber Eyes

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

EÖEzgi Gizem Özcan

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Critical analysis demonstrates how de Waal reframes aristocratic collecting into an intimate practice of mourning and care, highlighting collections as archives of displacement and survival.

Key Points

To examine how Edmund de Waal’s memoir repurposes the cabinet of curiosities tradition to transform collecting from an aristocratic display of dominion into an ethical practice of mourning.
Textual and historical analysis of Edmund de Waal’s memoir The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010).
Critical examination of Charles Ephrussi's nineteenth-century netsuke acquisitions through theories of class aspiration, exoticism, and artisanal labor.
De Waal reframes the collecting tradition away from imperial spectacle toward tactile intimacy, embodied memory, and the restored presence of artisanal makers.
The reopened vitrine functions as a counter-Wunderkammer, establishing an archive centered on displacement, trauma, and survival rather than conquest and ownership.

Cite This Study

Ezgi Gizem Özcan (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9299958e5d7d1fc0c11a05 https://doi.org/10.1080/13825577.2026.2720472

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark