Above are a few photos from Evan and I's recent pilgrimage (and, in Evan's case, epic buying trip) to the wonderful Nautilus Antiques of Modena, Italy. This shop--which had us enrapt for over an hour-- felt a bit like what I imagine Obscura Antiques might look like if it had easy access to the European antiquities such as skull reliquaries, wunderkammer trinkets, ancient taxidermy, and medical museum discards.

In the top image, you can see my travel companion Evan Michelson posing with Alessandro Molinengo, co-owner of Nautilus and recent guest poster to this blog (post 1, post 2); the second image down features Fausto Gazzi, his business partner. Both are posing with a favorite artifact for sale in the shop; in Alessandro's case, a taxidermied freak pig preparation and, in Fausto's case, a wax mannequin head by, in his own words, "the Michelangelo of mannequins" Pierre Himans. All other images are installation shots of the shop.

You can find out more about Nautilus by clicking here; you can "like" the shop on Facebook by clicking here. The shop is open on Saturdays from 3 until 7 PM or by appointment, and is located at via Cesare Battisti 60 in Modena, Italy.

All images are my own. You can see more images by clicking here; Click on image to see larger, more detailed version.