A little horror story; Nightmare on Swinnendael...

There was a strange sound that woke up Belle Zonneschut. It was the middle of the night. She peeked though the curtains of her four poster bed but could see nothing. Not the painted ceiling, not the marbled wallpanels, nor the furniture in it. She was only married for two months to Carel Polyander and this was the first night she spend alone at Huis ter Swinnendael. He had to leave this evening on an errand for the Prince of Orange. He would be back soon. Wouldn't he? Silence...

It must have been a bad dream. She laid her head to rest on her pillow. Adamant to go back to sleep. But wait... There it was again.... Some kind of scratching. It must have been the wind. A tree branch scratching against a windowpane. Nothing to worry about. There it was again. A lengthy screech this time...

But wait. This was not her family house in The Hague. With the century old chestnut tree caressing the windows on the left of the second floor. This was a moated country house. The nearest trees stood at least 30 meters away, and those were clipped boxhedges. No not a tree...

Oh why was Carel not here? He would know what it was. Surely it could not be a ghost, could it? 

Silly me, she thought, I must have drunk a glass of wine too many. Or was the pheasant undercooked? It was probably the blancmange with those poached pears. They easily give you gas and bad dreams. Although... Could one really trust those newfangled potatoes?

Belle's ponderings about her lonely diner that evening was rudely disturbed by more scratching and a loud BANG. She sat upright in her bed. With eyes wide open she peered into the darkness around her. Whatever that was, was not done by an undercooked pheasant. She stepped out of her warm bed into the chilly room.

She found the bellpull and rang for the servants. Normally she would hear a distant bell ringing. And servants feet running towards her room to do her bidding. But now she heard nothing. She pulled again and again. More furious with every pull. But not a sound. With one last pull the rope in the ceiling snapped and the embroidered bell pull fell down on the floor. No bell had rung.

Godfried Schalken, Lady with a candle.

Now Belle really started to get scared. She found the door handle. the metal was so cold. She turned it and opened the door. Expecting to see light in the art gallery. But it was pitch black. Only the faintest moonlight fell through the lantern on top of the roof. But that, together with the candle she found and lit, was not enough to dispell the dark shadows in the corners. Belle walked up to the balustrade and looked down. She could hear the sounds coming from behind the diningroom door.

"Who is there?" she asked sharply. Surprised at the fear that was audible in her voice.
"Don't go there. You are not invited..."  a sombre voice whispered in her ear. Belle turned around but there was nobody there. The only eyes she could see in the shadows were those behind the varnish of the old painted portraits on the wall. Cold but watchful eyes. Belle decided that she had to know to what exactly she was not invited. It must be the servants. Making good use of their masters absense. How dared they! she was the mistress of this house. And she was going to get to the bottom of this. The fear that had gripped her moments ago had dissipated and turned into anger.

Belle walked towards the staircase. When she stepped on the top step she heard another bodyless voice behind her.
"The yearly banquet of the Zonneschuts of old. Those poor sods who lost their souls and died without the mercy of redemption. Don't go there..." Belle looked back but there was again nobody in sight. Belle hesitated. Lost souls? The servants are having a laugh at my expense!

Belle rushed down the stairs and felt the cold marble tiles of the hall under her bare feet. The candle snuffed out when she ran down the stairs. Now only the pale moonlight that shone through the windows remained. In front of the diningroom door she clearly heard the scratching and squeaking. She looked around her in the empty room. The portraits seemed to be watching her every move. Holding their breath. A loud bang from behind the door brought her back to the here and now.

"Well, I am warned... But why stop now?" she whispered. She put her hands on the door and wanted to push them open when she heard what seamed like a dozen voices whisper in alarm, "Go back, go back!" She shook her head in an attempt to shrug of her fear.  She pushed and the doors swung open. But nothing could have prepared her for what was in that diningroom.

The room was a mess with red eyed rats large and small crawling over the tables and into dishes. Eating the rotten foods and drinking the putrid wines that stood everywhere. The scratching and squeaking stopped immediately as the door opened. A chill made Belle shiver...

"She is not one of us..." the rats said as one. "She is alive. She still has her soul... Give us your soul! REDEEM US!" The rats, ghosts of Zonneschuts of passed ages turned to her. Adament to eat her soul out of her. Desperate to stop wandering this earth in perpetuety after death. Belle screamed her longs out. Turned and ran as quick as her feet could carry her. But he rats were faster and gained in on her. She could hear their voices rasping 'Your soul. Give us a bite of it!" She could feel their claws sink in her skin as they ran up here nightgown to reach her neck. She missed a step and fell....

She kept falling and falling and never hit the ground. Instead she woke up screaming. Cold sweat all over her body. It must have been a bad dream. But wait... There was a sound.... Some kind of scratching.

The End... or is it?

My treasures from the Arnhem Dollshouse september 2019

Hello my Friends,

I went to the Dollhouseshow in Arnhem last week. I enjoyed it very much as I do every year. Apart from seeing great new miniatures and dolls, it is nice to meet acquinted miniaturists and other friends again. And make new friends ofcourse. :-) This year I followed a workshop given by Chris Malcomson. I will tell you more about the workshop in a next post. This year I went a bit overboard with the number of miniatures that I purchased.

That is partly because Cocky Wildschut has decided to make this show her last to exhibit and sell her handmade and handpainted porcelain. Although I am relatively new to miniatures I have loved her work right from the start. And I have bought several pieces of her work in earlier Shows. But nothing lasts forever and this year she has decided that it is time to retire. So this was the last opportunity for me to acquire some more of her miniatures. I splashed out on a number of plates, salvers and vases as seen in the picture below.

1 Delftware plate, 1 with a Cinese design, and two Delft Majolica plates.

2 polychrome Chinese plates and 2 vases.

I was one of the first to enter the show and had her whole collection to pick from. In all honesty I have not held back and you could call me a bit selfish, but a House like Swinnendael needs a decent amount of period porcelain and Delftware. Apart from that, earlier this year I have followed two workshops for painting miniature porcelain given by Cocky. In he picture below you can see the result of my labours. I am quite pleased with the results, although it is obvious that I still have quite a lot to learn. (especialy when compared to Cocky's porcelain in the pictures above) :-)

Please do not brake

I just said that a house like Huis ter Swinnendael needs a fair amount of porcelain. And of course that is true. But in the kitchens and larders earthenware and stoneware are as equally important if not more so. In the post of my visit to Arnhem last september I bought several pieces of Keuls Aardewerk (Stoneware from Cologne) with its typical dark blue and light grey. They were made by elisabeth Causeret and she attende this years show. :-) This year I bought some more pieces. In the picture below you can see a large brown storage jar, a sieve or collander, a set of two green glazed Chinese ginger jars, a brown  storage jar with a wide opening  and two stoneware tankards. When you spent above a certain amount you can choose a little ceramic item as a present. I soon passed the limit and chose a blue glased vase. 

Utilitarian ware can be so beautiful! 

But a house needs more than plates and pots. I had asked Ilona from Miniumloon if she would make some of her famous tulips for me. She  was kind enough to do so and now I could collect them. 10 red tulips with yellow stripes and 5 yellow tulips with red stripes. aren't they gorgeous. Ilona had made more of these tulips and sold the rest in the show. I am sure that they sold quickly and easily. These tulips will get pride of place in my house.

So delicate!

Nowadays trade in ivory is banned an rightly so. But Ivory remains beautiful to see. Some miniaturists like Vonas stil make miniatures of ivory but use only old and reclaimed ivory from old billiard balls for example. Now those of you who know their work know how delicate it is. I bought only two small pieces. A seashell on an ivory stand and a handheld firescreen to protect a ladies face from the heat of a fire. This one is made with a delicate handle of ebony. 

Ebony and ivory... 

From the stand of Alison Davies I bought two of her new busts. I want to marble them with paint. But I have not yet decided what colours they will get. I think. The lady will remain white but with a coloured base. The Roman bust might end up in different types of stone like the busts in Versailles. But then again, maybe not.

I feel a bit bland, you? 

Fingers crossed. Not less detailed is this new plaster fireplace. In my opinion it is early Georgian but could also pass quite well as an example in the style of Louis de XIVth. It is intended for the diningroom. De decorations will remain white like carrara marble the base and large flat surfaces wil be painted to resemble grey and blue marble.

A bit of a grand affair...

Well my dear friends, it will come as no surprise to you that I totaly ignored budgetary restrictions this year. But I have no regrets of my choices. But that does means bread and water for the remainder of the month for me I'm afraid. ;-). 

It was a great show. Caught up with several friends I have made in our mini-world in the last few years. And there was so much more to see in the show, made by brilliant miniaturists from all over the world. I already have a little shoppinglist for the next fair... I know, dear friends, I am terrible. :-)

Untill next time, 

Huibrecht 

The build: Laying down the foundations.

Hello my friends,

I think this title is quite apropriate. There are no cementmixers in site. Nor is there a large hole in the ground where foundations will be made. However. If you have read this blog from the beginning you know that I first started sketching and drawing several buildings in different styles and of different era's. (Georgian, Neo Gothic and Dutch Classicism) Then, when  I had chosen my theme and era, I built a maquette or mock up of the future miniature house  from cardboard and paper.

And now finally, over two years after my first sketch, I have started the first of the twenty-one rooms in earnest. therefor now is the time to tell a bit more about the construction that I have in mind.  I will not build the house as one solid behemoth of wood, paper, glue and paint. The house will be made up of three 'cabinets' one for each of the three wings as you can see in the drawing below. So we'll have the west wing, the central part and the east wing.

All good things come in three's

Every one of the twenty-one rooms will be its own roombox. The grand staircase and the ancestal gallery in the central part  will be double height and rise up almost 68 cm. (am I mad?) but the other rooms will be proper roomboxes. When finished they will slide into place in the structure of the house that also forms the outer shell of the house.

Lines, lines, lines...

The roomboxes will be made not per floor but per wing. Therefor I will start with the seperate rooms in the east wing. This means that from the service rooms in the cellar I will first make the "kookkeuken" (warm or cooking kitchen) and the "Rentmeesterskamer" (stewards room).

From the Beletage I will make the ''eetkamer" (diningroom) and the "kleine salon" (small drawingroom). Then comes the pivate apartment of sir Zonneschut with the "bibliotheek" (library) and the "blauwe slaapkamer" (blue room) and a corridor on the second floor. Finaly the attic floor will show the "kleerzolder" (clothes or washing attic) and the opbergzolder (storage attic).

When they are finished, which will take a few years I guess :-S, I will start on the second phase of the build which will either be the central part or the west wing of Huis ter Swinnendael.

All the outer walls together....

But back to the first room. If you click on this link you can read up on the 6 rooms that will form the cellar floor of the house. That page is written in Dutch but with the translation tool in the top right you can translate it into your own language  if you prefer. But as I said only two of those six basement rooms will come in the wing that I'll make first And those are those in the pictures below. 

Model of the "Rentmeesterskamer", the stewards room. 

Model of the "kookkeuken", the cooking kitchen.

My first attempt to cut the walls were not succesful. I did it by hand and the cuts were not nearly as precise as they needed to be. I am saving up for a table saw but with all the miniatures I buy in between that fund gets to be depleted every few months. ;-D

So I have drawn the walls of the first roomboxes with the help of a computer design program, in order to send them to a company that lasercuts different materials to order. I have to tweak the drawings a bit becaus I have decided that the walls that will open up the rooms as doors will be in different places than originaly planned. I plan on doing that after next weekend when  I have visited the miniature show in Arnhem.

And, as you can see in the picture of the Kookkeuken, I will have a lo of tiles to make... A huge pile of tiles...

I honestly can not wait. The game 's afoot!

Huibrecht