Treasures from the Arnhem show, March 2020.

Last saturday I undertook my bi-annual pilgrimage to Arnhem for the spring edition of the dollshouseshow there. Apart from nobody shaking each others hand you hardly noticed a thing of that nasty Covid-19. Some sellers had to cancel because of it of course, but it did not effect the mood and I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

At every succeeding show I spend more time catching up with miniaturists (sellers and buyers) that I have made my acquantance with over the past few years. It is great fun to see and speak to eachother again. So much stories to cath up on. But fortunately I managed to get some real gems that I want to share with you.

First of all I got these two wonderful miniatures. The bellows are painted by Wagon Mountain Studio. She specialises in Dutch folk painting. Especially the styles popular around Hindelooper and Assendelft. I asked her to decorate this piece in the so called 'shadow work'. This style of decoration consists of motifs like scrolls and flowers in black and cream on a dark green base. The black and cream give the illusion of 3 dimensional decorations.

Next to it stands a delicate Delftware tulip vase with 11 nozzles. It is a miniature copy of an antique original. It is made by Henny Staring Egberts.  It is a heartshape carried by two ducks. I will fill this vase with some of the tullips from Ilona Kraasenberg which I bought last year.

You may have noticed by now that I like birds. Also miniature birds. And so these two caught my eye. The pink Cockatoo is made by Montheron. I love her work. The robin spreading its wings (sorry for not having a better photo) is made by Sandra van Bennekom of Lovingastory. She makes different types of birds using real feathers. Apart from realistic songbirds and owls she also had a few lovely Fenixes modelled on the old Fenix from Harry Potter. I think I'll buy a companion for this robin the next time I see her.

Next up are these three items. A jar and two chalices mady by Herman Straeten. The one in the middle is made out of a hollowed out palmfruit and ebony wood. The other two are turned from amber. The lids can be taken of. They are hollowed out and are quite opaque. They surely look good around my mounted nautilus. :-)

The three painted speculaasplanken or cookie moulds are not new. The one with the man on a horse is the one I bought this weekend. Made by Arjen Spinhoven this is the fourth mould in my little  collection. I will have to stain it first though.

More woodturning! This time made by Jokra. 2 walking sticks and a wig or hat stand. The black wood is ebony and the striped Brown wood is made of snakewood (also called letterwood) this last one has a tip and a knob made from silver.

As you may know, I love silver. And Marie-Louis Markhorst of Smallscale made these lovely mounted shells. She also makes great items for the kitchen in copper and or brass. Some of those are a must in the kitchens of Huis ter Swinnendael. But since my budget was rapidly coming to an end, I had to leave those for a future moment.

 

And last but not least, this recorder made of Rose Ivory. I did not know it existed until last weekend, but Rose Ivory is not pink coloured elephant tusk, but a type of hardwood. The beauty of this recorder is that if my fingers were small enough I could actualy play on it. It is made out of two pieces, hollowed out and with the holes in the right place. After the flute I bought from Gerrit van Werven last year, this is my second musical instrument. It is also made by Herman Straeten.

And that is it, my friends. The loot from my trip to Arnhem. I hope you have enjoyed this little post. I will spend the rest of the evening making my miniature administration in order. :-)

Huibrecht