In the circa 1596 inventory of the collection of Ambras Castle in Innsbruck, famous as an early cabinet of curiosities, turned spheres such as these are listed as ‘works of art’. Regarded as wonders of virtuoso turning, the art of making such objects formed an integral part of the education of noble European princes from the 16th to the 18th century. In 1605 Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria, summarised the pride felt in creating art from nature by engraving on an ivory vessel he produced: ‘Ebur Ars Nobilitat, Artem Auctor Maximilianus Dux Bavaria’, ‘Art ennobles ivory, the creator (of this vessel) Maximilian Duke of Bavaria on the other hand, ennobles art’.