Thus, the front rooms of the gallery have been set up as an interior suggestive of an old cabinet de curiosités. In keeping with the cabinet de curiosités tradition, the objets d'art quite naturally retain their functional, utilitarian characteristics. At the same time the objects are striking not only due to their inherent beauty, but also because, on close inspection, they are unexpected, by virtue of the material each of them is made of.

Do we have preconceived ideas about the things that surround us and the materials they are supposed to be made of? To answer this question, here is a quick test that one can take by completing the following phrases:

- a sewing kit made of .....
- a ..... cabinet
- a ..... long-case clock
- a fence made of .....

The "correct" answers to our "test" are, as you may have guessed, surprising:

- a sewing kit made of bronze
- a ceramic cabinet
- a nickel plated long case clock
- a fence made of glass

Moreover, as visitors to the design-e-space gallery will undoubtedly notice, the objects in the show are elegant, sensual and luxuriously made.