Room for silver...




During the summer months I have been busy making another roombox to display 17th and 18th century silver miniatures.  The inspiration for the 17th century interior of the roombox came from several paintings by Pieter de Hooch and Emanuel de Witte. 




I made the floor from paper which I painted to look like marble.  The tiles in the hearth are also paper.    I turned the columns of the fireplace from pear wood on my lathe and then marbled them.  
The beams on the ceiling are oak, as is the mantle on the fireplace.  The walls are plastered, painted grey and then aged.    




On the walls hangs 'gold leather',  embossed and gilded leather panels.  In this case the panels aren't real leather, but a type of foil, printed especially for me by my nephew who specializes in art printing.  
I mounted the foil on panels, just like the real gold leather. Even though the printed panels already looked good, I still used several layers of paint, archival varnish and wax on the panels and emphasized the golden embossed raised areas with gold wax.  




Depending on where the light hits the panels, the gold has more (or less) shine.  




The two windows have glass window panes with a kiln fired leaded pattern on them.  
The curtains are silk.  




It was a beautiful summer's day when I took these photos, so the light streaming through the windows was wonderful.  Of course I had to play with some of the pieces from my own collection and take a couple of extra photos.  






Enough of my playing.  The roombox was made for a collection of antique silver miniatures, which gives it a very different atmosphere.  Next weekend I will show you some beautiful photos of the room with the miniature silver in it.  


Comments

  1. Wow this is a beautiful room, I like everything about it! Can't wait to see the silver collection in it---

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    1. Thank you for the compliment Linda! I'll post the photos in a couple of days.

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  2. Dear Josje, You are Amazing!!! That room looks Incredible!!! Beautiful Graceful, amazingly true to Real Life!!! I am so impressed!!! I have seen RL embossed leather wall panels in the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston.... yours look so Perfect! I Love the way they glow in the light... and the light streaming through those windows is just blissful! Add in your amazing pieces of mini furniture and those scrumptious fruits.... I am blown away!!! Your work is so inspiring to me! Thank you for sharing your talents here! :)

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    1. Thank you Betsy! I do like embossed leather wall panels, they were quite popular in 17th century Holland. I did have plans to make real leather ones, but have not been able to perfect the technique yet. Another thing on my never ending list ;-) I was very happy my nephew was able to help me out.

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  3. Good God, Woman! Your work is absolutely stunning!

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    1. Thank you Shelley! I am so behind on reading your posts...During the Christmas holidaysI hope to have plenty of time to see what you've been up to.

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  4. It is just beautiful Josje. I LOVE the 'leather' panels. They are really magic. You do sure a wonderful job making windows. I wish you had explained the glass process a bit more. The marbleizing you do always looks like it is real to me. I am really looking forward to seeing more pictures. ;-)

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    1. Hi Catherine, the window glass was an accidental discovery. It is basically just firing the design (whatever it is you put on there) in the kiln so it is permanent. Just like stained glass.

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  5. Cette chambre est une merveille, les panneaux de cuir sont de toute beauté, la lumière qui s'y reflète donne beaucoup de réalisme à l'ensemble.
    Un chef-d'oeuvre!

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    1. Ah, thank you Jean-Claude! I do like the soft reflection of light on the gold as well.

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  6. The panels are perfect. All works together so well. Will be great for your silver.

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  7. Beautiful! So amazing you wouldn't know it was miniature if you hadn't written it!

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    1. Thank you for the wonderful compliment Shannon!

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  8. As always my vocabulary is too restricted to express my feelings towards your work. Wonderful, amazing, stunning, you add what you wish. The leather panels are too good to be mini, they truly are real. Best wishes, Rosanna

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  9. Your work is Always of Museum Quality even when they're empty Josje! I can't wait to see all of the antiques silver placed in it, although even with just the few simple pieces on display your room already has a whole lot of Visual Impact!
    Love the bowl of fresh picked summer fruits, and the warm summer sunshine passing through those Incredible window panes- Simply Marvelous!!! :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Hi Elizabeth, I must confess I sometimes like it better when a room is empty ;-) But of course that's not what the room is for. Thank you for your lovely comment!

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  10. ¡Es una maravilla!. Impresionante. La ambientación es auténtica

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  11. That's stunning! It looks so real ...

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  12. As others have commented - there are not enough superlatives to describe your amazing work. Truly magnificent!!!!!
    Have a wonderful Christmas and will look forward to more of your beautiful work in 2017.
    Cheers, Linda

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Linda! Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a great 2017!

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  13. Dear Josje! This room is unsurpassed, perfect and incredibly beautiful!

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