My birthday; The 'elephant' in the room...

Hello my friends, 

It is high time for us to adress this issue... For many of you februari is just a winter month. For me it is the time of year that another year is added to my age... I am not thát vain, but vain enough that I rather talk about the party itself than the reason for the celebration. So there we have it, the elephant in the room...

 

The love of my life is not just the love of my life but he also has an uncanny sense of humor. So when I said (only) two times in the last few weeks that my upcoming birthday was not something I looked forward to, we laughed it away as being the elephant in the room. Little did I know...

And what present did I get from him for reaching 43? An elephant! And what kind of an animal! Keith Bougourd of Small time miniatures has recently made a few Louis XV gilt bronze Pendule ‘á l’éléphant’ as the French call them. 

He based his miniature on this one, made by the esteemed clockmaker Jean Moisy in Paris. That original clock you see in the picture above  was made in 1755 so bang on the right period for Huis ter Swinnendael.

This Pendule á l'éléphant is the second clock from Keith that my love has given me for a birthday. 

I must confess that this is becoming a tradition I quite like getting older for!  :-) 

Elephants will not become a theme for Huys ter Swinnendael, but I bought a miniature elephant tea pot a few years ago that can find a place in the same room as the clock. You may have spotted said tea pot in the picture below. It is a bit roughly shaped, especialy the lid, but I like it none the less.

But there is more. My parents have given me this spectacular tea caddy for my birthday. It is made by Malcolm Hall as some of you probably already have recognised from the picture.  Well, they did not really give me this tea caddy. My parents give me and my siblings a fixed amount for our birthdays to spend as we wish on a present. I used this years present for this tea caddy and paid the remainder of the price myself.  Tea caddy's are very apropriate miniatures for a house like Huys ter Swinnendael. But I do not want a dozen of them. This model however is one I definately could not resist. And it will probably not be the last either.

It has three 'tins' made out of brass with lids that actualy come off. (mind you, the width of the short side is only 4mm!) The caddy itself is made of mahogany. You almost forget how tiny this is if you do not place the teacaddy next to something normal sized. The two cannisters with the star engraved on the round lids are meant for the tea to be stored (Chinese & Indian, this was way before the many different flavours of tea we can now choose from) The cannister in the middle with the 'large' rectangular lid, is the mixing bowl where the two types of tea could be mixed into the favorite blend before adding it to the pot.

Last year I gave Jonquil 2 curfews or fireguards because she guessed correctly what I was making at that moment. And last week I received a little parcel from her. Since I received it so close to my birthday I feel that it should get a place here. 

When I opened it I found this beautiful piece of embroidery made by her. Only when holding the little frame in your own hand and see the embroidery with your own eyes can you really appreciate how small the stitches really are! although I am sure that those of you who embroider yourself will know that just by looking at the picture. :-) 

I apreciate this very much! The year 1722 is spot on and it will get a nice place in Huys ter Swinnendael

 A bit earlier, just around Christmas I received another package from a blogfriend, Birgit sent me a parcel with these lovely goodies. Not least a Flutterbeary mug which is now my personal craft room tea mug, and a Biwubeary calender with pictures of flowers and blooms that are an inspiration for our own future garden. 

At the moment said garden is a patchwork of gravel, grass, asphalt and mud. Besides that we have one old willow tree, hanging over to one side and one old hedge. In the grassy patches there grows (uneddible but pretty) mock strawberries  near the waters edge and snow drops in the far corner. and that is it. almost a blank canvas. It  will take a lot of work to turn it into a real garden, but Birgit's calender will be an inspiration for it. :-) 

Apart from that there were also jummy little chocolates, some with marzipan (which is my favorite combination!) and some more goodies that are not included in the photo. (Because those were already eaten and enjoyed! 

Dear Jonquil and Birgit, thank you very much for these lovely gifts. I love them and I will cherish them!

And last but not least I treated myself to a walking stick in miniature. The stick is made out of a piece of walnut. The handle is made out of brass. I think it is a pretty and elegant miniature made by Mantero Miniatures. 

But the real beauty lies hidden in the handle. You can lift it off from the cane and then it reveals a little telescope. The telescope (with glass lenses) van be retracted and it pivots in the middle. Although this is not an 18th century design, telescopes were very popular for a gentleman to have in his library. Even if it was just for show. 

Since sir Carel Polyander is an avid amateur scientist with a broad interest (a.k.a. a lack of focus ) :-) I can see him walking through his park around Swinnendael using his walking stick telescope to spot a rare bird amidst the foliage...

This last miniature is not a present in honour of my birthday. It is because I too have cast my eyes to the hills in a way. 

Not with a stylish telescope unfortunately. No, I had the opportunity to aply for a new job and am lucky to have 'won' it. In April I will start in my new job. It is an interesting step in my career, and that waranted a little something to commemorate it. :-)

Well, that is it for now. I hope you have enjoyed this little post. you may have spotted some further development on Lady Zonneschuts Dressingroom, and work in progress  on revamping the table I bought in Rijswijk last october... But that is for a new post in the near future. 

Take care,

Huibrecht