An (un)expected gift

Hello my friends,

I love a surprise as much as anyone. A little time ago Mrs M. (Stephanie) whom you may know from her blog Madness, promissed to send me a few pieces of thin leather. Leather that I could use for upholstery, book covers, sword sheaths and such. Apart from furniture and travelcases, I will have an entire library to fill with leatherbound books. Every piece is therefore welcome and apreciated. 

When her parcel arrived this weekend I was surprised by the size of it. She had sent me an email telling that she had added a few extra things, without giving spoilers, away, but I still dit not expect a box of that size.

She had included two lovely miniatures that she has made herself. A decorated card board box containing a book or diary. and a marbled teacaddy with two cannisters. Both with lovely decorations! And then there were a few more pieces. Two ceramic birds, who are 'feves'. Feves are trinkets hidden in a king cake. The lucky finder may end up with a broken tooth, but at least he or she will be kong/queen for a day. :-) Porcelain figurines of birds were popular in the eighteenth century so I am happy with those. Perhaps I will paint them to give them a more pastel look.

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/interview-with-ivan-day-food-historian/

The white structure in the front of the group is a resin miniature copy of the mormon temple of saltlake city. Now I am not a mormon so what to do with this? It did not take me long to find a nice use for it.  In the diningroom of Huis ter Swinnendael preperations are made for a festive banquet. So there or in the kitchen this temple will become part of the centerpiece. A castle made of sugarpaste. Placed on a base, with some (fimo) whipped cream around it and gold leaf decorated spires it will become a very ornate table decoration. From the renaissance until the second half of the 19th century these decorations were a must have for every banquet worthy of the name. :-)

But wait there was more. It contained several pieces of brown leather that will come in very handy with a lot of the projects I have planned. On top of the leather lies a few yards of broderie Anglaise which may certainly come in handy for decorative trim and such.

Then there were several resin ornaments. The frames are excuisite! They will certainly find a place in Huis ter Swinnedael.  I also love the winged Lions and the medallions. Lets see what I can use in Huis ter Swinnendael.The gold colloured rings probably come from buttons. I think they will make great frames for silhouettes. The crown is lovely. I have a few ideas for that one.

Last but not least, Mrs. M. put some pieces of furniture in the box. 2 kits from The house of miniatures, a candlestand and a sideboard, and a little bureau. For handling delicate miniatures she included some white gloves. And lastly a little notebook. I use several for my project and this one will come in handy too! I love the cardboard cover made from recycled material.

In short, I have been spoiled rotten. Thank you very much Mrs. M! Many items will surely find their way in Huis ter Swinnendael. Those that may not, will find a new home!

Well thats it for now. This weekend is the DHN fair in Arnhem. Despite the fears for the Covid 19 virus I will be going to Arnhem. There are a few infections now in the Netherlands, with most new cases from the immediate circle of the first victims. The governement has decided not to forbid public event because the medical authorities find that the risk of infection is still very low. So I see no reason not to go.

I hope to see some of you there. 

Huibrecht 

A nautilus(y) cup

Hello my friends, last week I hit the mark of 50 followers. Welcome Anne-Mie, Linda and Gonda. I am happy that I am not the only one who enjoyes my little endeavour in the world of miniatures.

Today I want to share with you a little miniature that I made. It is a miniature cup that pretends to be made with a Nautilus shell but is in fact just an ordinary snails shell. Found in a border in a local park. I found a few workshops in Dollshouse books and magazines that I have collected. So why not give it a try?

You may know the renaissance phenomenon of the Wunderkammer. Collections of rarities put together by monarchs and nobility. Entire rooms filled with collections of colourful, exotic and rare specimen of shells, horns, et cetera. These were the so called Naturalia that showed the marvel of Gods creation. 

Opposed to that there was the collection of Artificialia. The excuisite objects that showed the craft and ingenuity of man. In the Netherlands the wealthy burghers liked to display their interests, knowledge and good taste by amassing similar collections but on a smaller scale.

For Huis ter Swinnendael I want to make two early baroque collectors cabinets. One for the Naturalia and one for the Artificialia. By 1806 these early 17th century collections have become rarities themselves. Many pieces are valuable and therefore are kept. But the later collections of paintings, porcelain and antiquities have by now become much more important for the family to show their refined taste.

But back to the cup. Many shells have very different shapes from a Nautilus. This snails shell is not a perfect match but goes a long way. First of all the snails shell was cleaned and painted with mother of pearl nailpolish. I did not give it a basecoat of white paint because I hope that the natural colours of the shell wil enliven the colour of the nailpolish from underneath. 

Then I saw that the rim of the opening with this type of snail runs crooked. With the nautilus it does not. I took out the needlefiles and gently started to file down the edge to improve the Natilusness of the shell. After that I needed to repair the rim and other damaged area's with more nailpolish. 

Now it was time for the stand or foot of the cup. I shoved some beads I have in my little collection onto a toothpick. I then filled the cavities with airdrying clay and cut off the excess toothpick on one side. I added some small stickers used for making and decorating cards. After the clay had fully dried I gave it a coat of bright red paint. Lastly I aplied a coat of gold paint. I want to gild the base but I have not yet come around to buying the stuff needed for gilding. So paint it is for now.

Finaly it is time to add the shell itself. Here I also applied some of these small stickers to simulate the addition of gold on the shell itself. I removed the remainder of the toothpick and glued the shell on the card and let it dry.

And there we have it, my first attempt to make a nautilus cup. I enjoyed making it. I hope you have enjoyed reading about it. I do want to try and make one with metal as a challenge for the near future. As you can see I have a few more snail shells to pollish.

Those of you who have read my earlier posts may have noticed that in this picture there are a few new miniatures. The picture frame is a modern silverplate frame that I have painted gold. It wil be gilded eventually. The Bernini-esque bust was bought at Het Poppenhuis in Arnhem. A lovely visit of which I will show my new treasures in another post. And finaly the bronze statue of a Roman figure. It is a signet stamp used for wax seals. An antique I found on Etsy. 

Well, thats it for now, be well and u til the next post! 

Huibrecht 

I'm Imagining Imari

Hello my friends,

The famous porcelain with decorations in blue an red, somtimes highlighted with gold. We all know it or at least have seen it. Imari.

Originaly, as the name suggests a Japanese type of porcelain. It was soon copied in China for the European market and eventually also copied by European porcelain manufacturers for the European market. But today, centuries later, all these types of imari ware are highly prized all over the word. 

I have two miniature gourd type vases from the late 19th or early 20th century. Not the best quality made at that time but I like them.

You may have read my first and second post (back in 2018) about the old eggcups I painted in Delft blue. They were inspired by the tiny garden urns in the babyhouse of Sarah Rothe van Amstel which can be seen in het Haags Gemeentemuseum in the Hague.

I used special felt tip pens for ceramic in these first attempts. But although I tried my best the lines were much to thick for miniature. And besides that the paint spread evenly, without room for adding colourvariance though thickness or multiple layers. I did my best at the time. But now that I have painted ceramic with paint and brushes, I feel that I now can do better. So it was time to paint another eggcup.

One eggcup/garden urn that I did not show you in the earlier posts is the one where I used Imari porcelain as an inspiration. Here you can see (right) it compared to the second one I made using porcelain paint (left). You can see the difference between the two. I have made the second one for a friend. So it will not get a place in Huis ter Swinnendael.

I prefer the second one over the first. With the confidence for using paint and brushes instead of marker pens I look at the old Delft vases again and think, this I can do better. So just as with the Imari one the Delft blue gardan vases will be redone. But that is for a next post my friends.

Huibrecht