This ‘helmet’ is indispensable in illustrating the history of distillation in the Low Countries. In various 16th and 17th-century engravings and paintings, you can see how vapours were cooled down and converted into liquids in a helmet like this. In Belgium, we do not know a second one like this.
The 54 preserved miniatures in this series together form a visual guide for meditation on a mandala. This is a depiction of the cosmos, in this case with Sarvavid Vairocana – the most important of the five heavenly or dhyani Buddhas.
The permanent exhibition 'Life and Death. Gods and Mankind' shares ideas about life and death in different cultures and ideologies. New acquisitions by Jan Cox represent the secular humanism theme. The theme Judaism is given a new interpretation with an installation by Daniel von Weinberger.
