Vienna has many museums, among them the Art History museum. That one has the "Kunstkammer" storing some beautiful and unusual artifacts, some of which quite remind me of DF ... I've used tinyurl since the original urls were quite long. If you want to make sure I'm not sending you to hacker sites, you can verify the URL using
http://preview.tinyurl.com/Examples of DF-like artifacts below(I've added rough shortened translations of the explanatory texts. I use x/y wherever I'm not sure which word/expresssion/term to use.)
EDIT: I'm an idiot, the museum does offer its pages in English. Replaced all links to link to English language page where possible. Shortened my translations.
"Hyazinth La Bella" - studded large (416 carat) gemEarly 15th Century; bought in 1687 by Emperor Leopold I. (1640-1705). Artists added golden twigs covered in white emaille, and added a double-headed eagle (symbol of the Austrian civilization) holding a sword with Hungarian insignia and a sceptre with the insignia of Bohemia.
http://tinyurl.com/al632e"Emerald Mug"Crafted by Dionysio Miseroni, 1641. A giant emerald from the Muzo mines in Columbia, discovered by the Spanish in 1558. The raw stone consisted of two fused crystals of different sizes and was bought by Emperor Rudolf II, it is mentioned in his will (1619). Emperor Ferdinand III then had D.Miseroni cut it into a mug, which led to large bits of the stone being lost despite the artisan trying to preserve the gem's huge size (therefore the irregular shape). It is decorated with leaves and an acanthus leaf. The golden ring was added to conceal the irregularity of the mug's upper rim. The artisan received 12.000 gulden for his work, and was able to sell fragments of asmethyst worth another 2.500. Muscovite visitors are said to have offered several chests of pearls in exchange for this item, and a Grand Duke of Florence is said to have offered three tons of gold for it.
http://tinyurl.com/cgdmg9"Agate Bowl"Fourth Century. This bowl, which including its handle was cut from a single piece of Agate, is the largest known surviving item of antique stone-cutting art. It was however not mainly known for its impressive size or the artisan's perfect work -- but for strange letters which sometimes seem to appear in the stone. These are really just a feature of the stone's grain/texture, which in certain light seems to show the letters XRISTO. This led to the assumption that this was the Holy Grail, the bowl used to capture Jesus' blood during the crucifixion, and that only select people could see the letters (just depends on light direction though). The bowl is some 1600 years old but in immaculate condition. It could have been created under Konstantin I (306-337) and probably reached the West when Constantinople was sacked in 1204, and is mentioned in Emperor Ferdinand I.''s will (1564).
http://tinyurl.com/dh5uf8King's CoatMade in 1830. "Trailing Coat" made from red-dyed velvet. Images made from gold thread cover it, showing two-headed eagles (civilization symbol) with the "Reich's Apple" (Globus Cruciger), sword and the Rudolph's Crown; on the front eagles with a shield in Austria's red-white-red colors. The coat has a bordure showing oak leaves, acorns and laurel. The fringe used to be white, decorated with nosegays of laurel and oak. Twisted gold rope/wire was used to fasten the coat. The ermine fur inner lining has been lost.
History: When Ferdinand I was to be crowned "younger king of Hungary" in 1830, the Emperor needed a fitting ornate. Sice the office of Austrian Emperor only existed since 1804 they had to look for a new ornate ... and asked the head of the Imperial Theater's Costume Department to design it!
http://tinyurl.com/d8zecn"Bone Scepter encrusted with gold and studded with gems"Andreas Osenbruck, dated 1615. The shaft was made from the "Ainkhürn", which was long thought to be a Unicorn Horn and one of the most precious items in Austria's imperial treasuries (though really it's just a whale tooth). According to legends, hunters could not harm the unicorn, but it laid its head on the lap of a virgin (later the virgin Mary), who then captured it [(never trust a virgin! hah)]. Since the unicorn is also a symbol for Christ, using this bone for the scepter showed the Emperor's ambition to rule the wordly and spiritual realms. The sceptre's thin shaft has been enforced with an iron rod from the inside to prevent the heavy "sceptre flower" on top from deforming the item. The top consists of bent barrettes/clasps/links whose enormous richness in shape at first seems impossible for the eye to decode. Gems were chosen to match the rudolphine crown; the main links being studded with diamonds (with six ornamental layers underneath the bezel setting). The ruby-studded links have a simpler design. Just like with the Crown and Globus Cruciger, it is topped with a large sapphire.
http://tinyurl.com/dz5ubbGold Mug made around 1160http://tinyurl.com/c9tg8eLarge BezoarA Bezoar or gastrolith is a stone formed naturally in the intestinal tract of a cow. These were thought to be medicine against melancholy, epilepsy, and against all forms of poison.
So this is a stone that grew in a cow's gut ... and was then set in gold encrusted with emeralds. Now is that dwarfy or not?
http://tinyurl.com/bhfq3gSeychelle Nut (Coco de mer) jug/mugA weird nut was found on the beach on the Seychelles and thought to be a kind of ultra-valuable sea plant (though it is the fruit of a tree; these seeds can weigh up to 22 kilos or 40 pounds). Anton Schweinberger, goldsmith to the throne, was tasked with setting it with silver and gold. The result is considered one of the more important pieces of Prague goldsmith artisanry; the nut itself was etched by a famed woodwork specialist.
http://tinyurl.com/ba9nncBone Coffer, 1542http://tinyurl.com/c6mtf4Unicorn Horn (Whale tooth) Mug, around 1605http://tinyurl.com/aqqbwfBone Statue "Fury", around 1620 by "Furymaster"(he's either making a plaintive gesture, or going into a martial trance, not sure.)
http://tinyurl.com/cx8eg6Jasper MugDecorated with an image of a Nereid chaning a Dragon on top, images of greek gods around the bottom, and what I believe to be a Giant Cave Spider web on the side.
http://tinyurl.com/arh2amTable Ornament (Mug?) cut from Quartz / Rock Crystalhttp://tinyurl.com/adqbl7Bronze, erm, aquamanile. mug? pitcher?)http://tinyurl.com/d6w5s412th century toy: "Whistler"Ignore the hole in the belly, this is "damage to the item". These little hollow figurines had small holes in their mouth and nose. People filled them with water and sat them in the glowing coals, which caused the whistler toy to spit steam from its mouth and nose. Similar toys were used in the Antique as well. Most of these toys had large visible genitals, which causes historians to speculate about this type of toy as a possible remainder of pre-historic fertility cults.
http://tinyurl.com/aehyweCabinet made for the King. Ebony encrusted with silver, many hidden compartments
http://tinyurl.com/cckfp4Amber and Gold Mug decorated with images of heroes and weaponshttp://tinyurl.com/dhhg7zLINKSNOTE: The Vienna Kunstkammer will be closed until 2011.
List of European museums with artifact collections
http://www.kunstkammer.at/museen.htmhttp://www.kunstkammer.at/museen1.htmArtifact Chamber, Art History Museum Vienna:
http://www.khm.at/de/kunsthistorisches-museum/sammlungen/kunstkammer/Site on minerals and artifacts created from "hand stones" (German)
http://www.mineral.at/