Keeping out the draft - A miniature folding screen tutorial

Hello my friends.

In the last post you could see a paravent or folding screen behind the miniatures I showed you. Today it is finished and I want to share with you just how easy it is to make such a folding screen.  But first I want to welcome Anna Scott and Jodi Hippler as the latest followers of my little foray into dollshouses and miniatures.

In the olden days people did not like to sit in the draft and for good reason. Unfortunately most houses of the time, including the grandest palaces, were not draft free. Oh and by the way, this little rascal is Quintus, Lady Zonneschuts' companion dog.

Quintus! Get off that chair!

In every dutch dolls' house of the 17th and 18th century we can find in museums there is at least one folding screen or paravent in their inventory. Either covered with Japanese lacquered paper, painted canvas, tooled leather or with the same fabric as used for the wall hangings, upholstery and curtains for the room the folding screen is placed in.

The Japanese paravent from the doll's house of Petronella Dunois in the Rijksmuseum. (photo link)

The folding screen in the dolls'house of Petronella Oortman in the Rijksmuseum. 

A (broken) screen with a landscape painted on canvas. From the Amsterdams Museum (Photo link)

In books on historic houses and their interiors, and indeed in books on historic periods and miniature furniture or miniature embroidery several examples of (miniature) folding screens can be seen.

It goes without saying that Huis ter Swinnendael will need at least one of these. But what should it look like? In the digital archive of the Metropolitan Museum of Art I found two drawings containing a study for a Stage Set. They were made in the 18th century by Jacques de Lajoüe. I loved them instantly but had no real use for them. Until now that is.

Luckely both designs are practically the same size so they needed no resizing at all. I printed them on paper and cut them out in 5 panels. Because the designs are symetrical I did not want an even number of panels with a division through the middle. That would only emphasise symetry. Now the central pannel is flanked by 2 symetrical but opposing panels. Not nescesary but esthetically more pleasing in my opninion.

Then it was time for the construction. I kept it very simple. I have bought a stack of little wooden cigar boxes in a fleamarket, a few years ago. It was high time to take some of them apart and cut out 5 panels that are 5,2 cm wide and 14.2 long. The panels of the cigarboxes are made of cederwood and are aproximately 2.5 millimeters thick, which is a good thickness for 1:12 furniture.

After sanding I glued the paper on the wooden panels. When the glue was dry I stacked the 5 panels and used linnen backed sportstape to tape the 5 panels together. I cut the tape open between the paneld whereby the remaining tape acts as the hinges for the screen. Now we have a folding screen with two matching desings on them.

But it was not finished yet. The tape looked too white and new. The stage set desings are mid 18th century. The scene in Huis ter Swinnendael is set in 1806. So this paravent has been lugged around for over 50 years now. It needed aging. 

I painted the taped sides and top in a light beige ( I mixed titanium white with a teeny bit of yellow chrome oxide and raw sienna to obtain an nice pale beige) trying to match the background colour of the drawings on the panels. Here and there I splashed around the corners s and added small stains on the panel scenes as well. 

When all was dry I varnished (clear varnish with a little raw umber) the whole screen to age it a bit more (the raw umber gives the varnish an antique look. A tip I picked up from Daydreamers blog ). Lastly I added little dots with a brass coloured fineliner to simulate the brass tacks with which the canvas is attached to the wooden carcass of the screen.

And here you can see the result. A decorative folding screen painted with two different but matching architectural follies that looks used but still decorative. In the last post you saw the side with a rococo garden. Here you see the reverse side with statues and urns. 

Quintus! Why are you still on that chair? Bad dog!

Who knows. Before the Batavian revolution when the family lived in happier times this paravent was maybe used as a makeshift backdrop for performing and entertaining during long summer evenings with family and friends? Those must be good memories. :-) 

So if you want to make your own folding screen I hope this post helps you to do so.  The options are endless. I used two watercolours but you can use prints of landsvapes in oils. And the reverse side or both can be covered in a decorative wallpaper or fabric. The choice is yours. :-)

That's it for now. I hope that you have enjoyed this little post. Be well and til next time!

Huibrecht