The strides in Western culture that took place around the 16th century are all too often associated with the Italian Renaissance, but other centers of learning in Europe deserve equal attention. Of note is Prague, where Rudolf II, the Holy Roman Emperor from the House of Habsburg, supported developments in art, and sponsored research into the sciences, including mathematics, astronomy and alchemy. As a collector, Rudolf (1552-1612) amassed a wide range of artifacts from all these fields.