Birthday treasures

Hello my friends,

I celebrated my birthday this month. And when I look back at the year that has passed, it has been a year like no other in so many ways. I hope and believe that a lot has changed for the better when I celebrate my next birthday. 

And because of that there has been no party with friends and relatives. Just some cards, mails and phonecalls. I cherish all of them but it is not really the same as getting together. However, it is for a good reason. The sooner we have ended the pandemic together, the sooner life can return to normal. That will be the biggest and best gift for me and all of us! 

For a few years now my wishlist is narrowed down to certain miniatures or a contribution towards buying them. Throwing the 'loot' for Sinterklaas, Christmas and my birthday together has resulted in quite a big haul! It does not compare to spending time together with loved ones, but I am very happy with the gifts I received or could buy with the sum received. 

First I received an octogonal burr wallnut teacaddy made by Malcom Hall. I love his work but up to now I had none of his miniatures. This single compartment teacaddy is one of my favorite models that he makes. 

The amount of detail is stunning. When you open the outer lid you can see an inner lid made of of mahogany. And when you lift that, the container for tea is 'tinned' like the originals were and sometimes stil are. 

I also got a white metal bust Louis XIV by Andrea miniatures. This company makes models for military miniatures. They do not cater to the 1:12 market. 

They do however sell a miniature version of the famous Bernini bust of Louis XIV, the Sun King. And with almost 7cm height it would stand around 84 cm in 1:1. That is large but still realistic for a bust. 

I look forward to painting this one to resemble terracotta like I did with Marie Antoinette a little while ago. 

Boule arch top mantle clock by Keith Bougourd of Small Time miniatures. My first miniature of his hand as well. I love his clocks and I want to save up for some more in the coming years. A house simply needs more than one clock! 

This clock replicates the Boule work with inlay of brass and (faux) red tortoise shell. The style of this model is Louis XVI. This mantle clock will get a place on the mantleshelf in the diningroom. 

Next are the pair of two Gustavian/Louis XV console tables by David Iriarte.

I am so very happy with these. I cannot begin to tell you how I am in awe of his talent. These are metal casts of the master piece he has made and he has painted them in these lovely light colours. I love the marbling of the table tops as well. So finely done, that I will try to replicate this on another miniature. 

He also makes unique pieces. Those are spectacular, but far out of my reach. Oh well, I am over the moon with these two console tables. And to my surprise there was more in the little White box...

As a present, David included these two candelabra as a gift. I completely missed them when I first unpacked the tables, so I only found them a week later when I took out the rest of the packing paper to rewrap the tables. These baroque candlesticks are lovely and I will have no trouble finding a suitable place for them in Huis ter Swinnendael. I have thanked David for this lovely but unexpected gift. 

And if that was not enough, a silver fruit basket by Marie-Louise from Small Scale Miniatures. The picture above is of her website. We agreed that she would keep the item until she has made a little commision that she accepted from me. But I will keep that item secret until she has finished it and has sent it to me. And until then I will have to wait on this basket too. ;-) 

And as if with all those wonderful miniatures I have not been spoiled enough already, I also received this set for gilding miniatures with leaf metal from my loved one. I am very happy with this present. I am wanting to try my hand at gilding for a few years now. But I held back for fear of it being perhaps too difficult to do. So receiving this starterset is a great reason to finally start experimenting. No more excuses! 

Huibrecht 

Home is where the heart(h) is: 3. Obeying the curfew by staying indoors?

Hello my friends,

Do you have to stay indoors because of Covid measurements? Here in the Netherlands we have curfew from 9 pm until 4.30 am. Ever wondered where the word curfew comes from? Curfew or 'avondklok' in Dutch, was the answer to the question in the last post and Jonquil guessed it correctly! Now there was a little prize to win. 2 curfews, one replicates led glazed pottery and one replicates tin glazed Delftware. I have invited Jonquil to choose the two she likes most as soon as all 11 are finished. The curfews of her choice will then be sent to her adress. 

But what was/is a curfew? Everybody knows the current meaning of a curfew. Nowadays, a curfew is a regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night. For example: a dusk-to-dawn curfew. And right now, several of you, like us in the Netherlands, experience the restraint a curfew places on you as many countries now have installed it as a measure to try to battle the current Covid pandemic. So sadly, this post has an unexpected link with the world of today.

If that is the current meaning of a curfew, where does the word originaly come from? The word curfew comes from Old French and the Anglo-Norman forms, composed of:

– couvre, imperative of the verb couvrir, to cover,

– feu, meaning fire.

The word curfew originally denoted a regulation in force in many if not most towns in medieval Europe by which fires were to be covered over or extinguished at a fixed hour in the evening, indicated by the ringing of a bell. It also denoted the hour of evening (evening bell aka 'avondklok') when this signal was given and the bell rung for the purpose. In other words, the workday was finally at an end and if the city gates were not normaly closed at dusk they would be closed now only to be opened the next day. 

In times of war or civil unrest the civil or military authorities could issue an order that, at the hour where all fires should be covered, noone could leave there house (unless they had special privileges). And that latter meaning of the word remains until this day.

But back to tbe humble fire cover. In front of the hearth in the painting above stands a yellow glazed curfew or couvre feu. In Dutch they are called 'vuurklok' or 'vuurstolp'. These were used, as you have already read, to cover the remaining fire or smouldering embers to make sure that they could not rekindle or spread when the occupants were asleep and burn the house down. 

These household items ranged from simple metal and earthenware items up to fancy brass or glazed earthenware examples. Because these were first and formost utilitarian objects most disappeared on the rubbish tip when they broke. And with the advent of coal fires in baskets and oil fires they became obsolete altogether. So only a few of these survive today and are mostly found in museum collections. In the picture above you can see a selection of sizes and differently shaped borders to add to the variety. 

These are made out of DAS air-drying clay and varnished with gloss varnish The area's I want highlighted in green and pale yellow are first painted in an off-white. And then covered with a few layers of varnish (coloured with ink) to build up the coloured glaze. Some are monochrome and entirely decorated in green or yellow on the outside and the others have coloured decorations on the red clay base. The yellow and green mimic the lead glazes normally used. Curfews like this were made from the 1500's onwards and into the early 19th century and can sometimes be determined where they were made by the type of decorations or glazetints used. Some of them also have a date on them as part of the decoration, which is quite handy for the historians ;-)

A green one is destined for the cooking kitchen and a decorated one is intended for the office of the steward.  The place for the others are yet to be decided. Some will be gifts. 

The next one is made of white Fimo clay and decorated with painted decorations in a dark blue to mimic a delftware curfew. halfway the 17th century Delftware as an imitation of  Chinese porcelain became very popular.

 

For the grander households this new taste produced beautiful curfews in this colourscheme. This one is again glazed with glossy varnish to get that rich glossy sheen. This last one will go into either the dining room or the porcelain room/morning room on the first floor. 

 From the many pieces of broken curfews that have been dug up in excavations, archeologists have concluded that many of the pretty multicolor or delftware decorated curfews had never been used to cover the remains of the fire. Those curfews were status objects to be put into the cleaned hearths as a decoration and a sign of wealth. The simple or monochrome curfews were then hidden away somewhere out of sight of the visitors. How do they know? The very ornate ones often are spotless on the (unglazed) inside while the others are blackened by soot. I am making four more Delftware curfews, but as you can see below, they are not ready yet. Still some painting to do this week before Jonquil can make her choice. :-) 

And that, my friends is why I find myself making miniature curfews while here in the Netherlands a curfew is in place for the first time since the Second World War. Who knew? 

That is it for now my friends, until the next post. 

Huibrecht 

Can you guess?

Hello my friends, 

Just a quick post in between. Can you guess what these will become? 

I am playing with airdrying clay and have started making six items tbat used to be commonplace in households all over Europe and America. 

It may not look much now but it should look a whole lot better by the time I have finished them. 

I will give you a hint. The name of this item (in English) is used a lot nowadays in relation to the covid pandemic. But the finished item is not a medical device. 

Intrigued? Care to have a guess? The first to give the right answer below will get little gift. Free of charge for I will pay the costs for shipping it to the lucky winner. 

Good luck, 

Huibrecht