Art and objects span centuries and geography ranging in purpose from pleasure or profit to posterity. The most beautifully crafted can transcend all categories to become desirable works of art. Exceptional examples have a hidden narrative that seems to speak to us - forging a bond between viewer and object, inviting, almost demanding, personal ownership.

While collecting has always been part of human culture, the concept was elevated when the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration in 16th century Europe inspired the introduction of cabinets of curiosities. These were not necessarily pieces of furniture but private museums, or kunstkammer, displaying encyclopedic collections of remarkable finds sought out by those who coveted the rare and wondrous.

Earning the byline of Classic to Curious, along with passion and experise in an unusual arc from Kunstkammer to Outsider Art, Marion Harris is an internationally recognized resource for collectors, designers and museums, including the Metropoitan in New York and the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, UK.