ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on touch and tactile vision in order to examine the extent to which they can lead to a sublime experience. It expands on Frank Ankersmit's idea that not only grand constructions but also far smaller objects can arouse sublimity, because they can escape our comprehension even if we are able to touch them. Starting with Adam van Vianen's famous auricular ewer, this chapter looks at objects that in the Dutch Republic evoked an ambiguity that disturbed the stable relationship between object and subject, but we also draw attention to the way in which Dutch visual culture reflects upon this ambiguity. The birthplace of the auricular ornament, the Wunderkammer, will receive special attention. The central question is whether the wonder that was generally attributed to the objects displayed in cabinets can be linked to the overwhelming effect that Ankersmit attributes to the sense of touch.
