17th Century Kitchen roombox (2)





The 17th century kitchen roombox was designed to display silver miniatures from the 17th and 18th century. These miniatures were originally collected by wealthy Dutch women who kept a dolls house. The dolls house (cabinet) was not a toy, but a prize exhibit which its owner would show off to visitors. An expensive hobby even in those days, as some dolls houses would cost as much as a modest full scale canalside house in Amsterdam.

To enable better a view of the silver miniatures in the roombox, I made the front half of the ceiling out of glass.




The hollow beams in the ceiling hide light fixtures. As the roombox has to be on display without access to a power outlet, the lights run on heavy batteries which are hidden in the chimney breast. At the back of the roombox there is a little lid door which gives access to the batteries and the light switch.




On the right side of the roombox I made a large corner cabinet to hold more silver miniatures. The lovely gateleg table was made to my specifications by Colin Bird.



Just as I mentioned in my previous post, the miniatures in the photos are not the antique miniatures, but my own modern day ones.




The photo below shows an article which was published in the December 2010 issue of Dolls House Nederland, in which you can see the roombox filled with the real 17th and 18th century silver miniatures.
The last two photos show some of the silver miniatures in more detail. The colour of the cabinets is a bit off in these photos, it should be like in the photos above.





Comments

  1. Josje, This kitchen roombox is so stunning! I LOVE the corner cabinet that you have made. It is so perfect to display all of the wonderful silver pieces! What an incredible collection the antique dealer has and your kitchen really compliments them! He must have been so thrilled to have this roombox!!!
    AMAZING!!!! Thanks for sharing the photos with all of the silver in it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fabulous, both the minis and the room. It's perfect. Rosanna

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enhorabuena, es una cocian fantastica.
    Esas piezas son extraordinarias, verdaderas joyas.
    Feliz fin de semana
    besitos ascension

    ReplyDelete
  4. Un lugar único para exponer estas joyas de plata.
    Felicidades.
    Besos Clara

    ReplyDelete
  5. Marvellous - you have made a roombox of exquisite, elegant simplicity!!
    Perfection!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I LOVE the room. It is just perfect in every way. It is beautifully crafted.

    I like your miniatures in the room better than the antique ones. Though they are also gorgeous! Yours just appeal to me more.

    Thank you for your email. I understand perfectly. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Un lujo de cocina y una gran suerte poseer tan extraordinarios elementos. Un saludo, Eva

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great commission to get, and you have executed it in the best possible way! The roombox is wonderful, a perfect display for the silver antiques, but may I say I prefer it with your miniatures in it? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Perfect!It's a dream!
    Compliments!
    Sonya

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful roombox and great great silver mniatures!

    ReplyDelete
  11. es un trabajo maravilloso, su miniaturas se ven perfectas en esta habitación.
    un abrazo

    is a wonderful job, your thumbnails are perfect in this room.
    a hug

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's all lovely and such an inspired idea to cut away part of the ceiling for a better look at all the items.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you all! I did make the room specifically for these antique miniatures. I made a mock up first, to see if everything fitted in. The hearth needed to be a specific height for the rare silver 'fire haul'(I don't know the correct English word for this, it is the thing which enables the cook to move the pot away from or closer to the fire), we needed wall space for some other rare miniatures etc. The photos don't do the silver miniatures justise, in real life they look absolutely stunning!
    Cutting away part of the ceiling was at the request of the owner of the silver miniatures. The front and top are closed with glass to protect the the roombox from dust, curious fingers, but above all, to prevent the silver from rapid tarnishing.
    Like some of you, I must say I quite liked my own miniatures in there too! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment