In Faust, Goethe's protagonist sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power. A faustian bargain is thus a deal made in which one gains something at the expense of something far more precious.
 
Cabinets of curiosities were collections of cultural and natural artifacts stored within cabinets, or sometimes filling up entire rooms, of private collectors and amateur anthropologists, and were chiefly acquired through travel or trade. Many of these artifacts represent the plunder of other cultures' patrimonies, a practice facilitated by colonialism. Though fascinating, these cabinets and museums were created at the expense of non-Westerners, and by objectifying people into rarified stereotypes.