An Owl Under Glass
My Great Grandparents, whom I had the pleasure of knowing for the first thirteen years of my life, lived in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and their large, rambling houses’ décor reflected this. The Victorians were fascinated by the world around them, but on their own terms, which means that they wanted the world brought to them into their homes, and that created the fashion for floral arrangements, shells and even stuffed animals under glass cloches or in large cabinets in their houses. My Great Grandparents had a number of these: an ornamental floral arrangement made entirely of collected shells on the mantle in the drawing room, dried floral arrangements in the hallway, morning room, drawing room and dining room, butterflies under glass in the hallway and my Great Grandfather had a stuffed owl under glass in his London study on his desk.
The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 7th of February is "owl", and for the theme this week, I have chosen an owl under glass. Now I know you are going to say: that this should be a macro shot, and it is. What might surprise you is that everything in this photograph, from the ink bottles, spectacles and pen on the desk to the photos on the wall are all in fact 1:12 miniatures from my extensive collection which I use for photography purposes. You will therefore perhaps also be pleased to know that the owl under glass who is the focus of this image is not real, but a 1:12 miniature too. He is made from carved soapstone and only stands three centimetres high. Although not exact, this image very much reflects what my Great Grandfather’s desk looked like when I was a child: cluttered with a mixture of books and writing implements (including a blotter because he wrote with a fountain pen), family photographs and his stuffed white owl under glass! The big difference is he was a cigarette smoker, not a pipe smoker, so the pipe stand was not what he had. Anyone who follows my photostream knows that I love and collect 1:12 size miniatures which I photograph in realistic scenes. The artifice of recreating in minute detail items in 1:12 scale always amazes me, and it’s amazing how the eye can be fooled. I hope you like my choice of this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
As the main focus of my image, the stuffed white owl on a branch beneath a glass cloche is a beautiful vintage miniature piece made by an unknown artisan. The foliage is made up of real dried flowers and grasses, whilst the owl is cut from white soapstone. The base is stained wood and the cloche is real glass. This I acquired along with two others featuring shells from Kathleen Knight’s Dollhouse Shop in the United Kingdom.
On the desk are some 1:12 artisan miniature ink bottles, a pen, a blotter, a roller and a cloisonné letter opener all made by the Little Green Workshop in England who specialise in high end, high quality miniatures. The ink bottles are made from tiny faceted crystal beads and have sterling silver bottoms and lids. The pen, roller and ink blotter are also sterling silver, and the bottom of the blotter is made of real black felt, cut meticulously to size to fit snugly inside the frame. The letter opener with its beautiful real cloisonné handle in green and blue is made of brass. The letter rack behind the owl under glass is also made of brass and is a piece by the Little Green Workshop.
The books on the table are all covered in fine kid leather or suede. They, the spectacles made of wire, the calendar, and the letter are all artisan miniatures made by an unknown artist and were also sourced from Kathleen Knight’s Dollhouse Shop.
The family photos on the desk and hanging on the wall are all real photos, produced to high standards in 1:12 size on proper photographic paper by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire. The large silver frame on the right-hand side of the photo hanging on the wall is actually a sterling silver miniature frame. It was made in Birmingham in 1908 and is hallmarked on the back of the frame. It has a red leather backing. The other frames are from various online miniatures suppliers, and all are metal.
The pipe stand with pipes on the right of the photograph is cast from pewter by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces. It has been hand-painted by me.
The Chippendale desk itself is made by Bespaq, and it has a mahogany stain, and the design is taken from a real Chippendale desk. Its surface is covered in red dioxide red dioxide leather with a gilt trim. Bespaq is a high-end miniature furniture maker with high attention to detail and quality.
The gold flocked Edwardian wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend.
An Owl Under Glass
My Great Grandparents, whom I had the pleasure of knowing for the first thirteen years of my life, lived in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and their large, rambling houses’ décor reflected this. The Victorians were fascinated by the world around them, but on their own terms, which means that they wanted the world brought to them into their homes, and that created the fashion for floral arrangements, shells and even stuffed animals under glass cloches or in large cabinets in their houses. My Great Grandparents had a number of these: an ornamental floral arrangement made entirely of collected shells on the mantle in the drawing room, dried floral arrangements in the hallway, morning room, drawing room and dining room, butterflies under glass in the hallway and my Great Grandfather had a stuffed owl under glass in his London study on his desk.
The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 7th of February is "owl", and for the theme this week, I have chosen an owl under glass. Now I know you are going to say: that this should be a macro shot, and it is. What might surprise you is that everything in this photograph, from the ink bottles, spectacles and pen on the desk to the photos on the wall are all in fact 1:12 miniatures from my extensive collection which I use for photography purposes. You will therefore perhaps also be pleased to know that the owl under glass who is the focus of this image is not real, but a 1:12 miniature too. He is made from carved soapstone and only stands three centimetres high. Although not exact, this image very much reflects what my Great Grandfather’s desk looked like when I was a child: cluttered with a mixture of books and writing implements (including a blotter because he wrote with a fountain pen), family photographs and his stuffed white owl under glass! The big difference is he was a cigarette smoker, not a pipe smoker, so the pipe stand was not what he had. Anyone who follows my photostream knows that I love and collect 1:12 size miniatures which I photograph in realistic scenes. The artifice of recreating in minute detail items in 1:12 scale always amazes me, and it’s amazing how the eye can be fooled. I hope you like my choice of this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
As the main focus of my image, the stuffed white owl on a branch beneath a glass cloche is a beautiful vintage miniature piece made by an unknown artisan. The foliage is made up of real dried flowers and grasses, whilst the owl is cut from white soapstone. The base is stained wood and the cloche is real glass. This I acquired along with two others featuring shells from Kathleen Knight’s Dollhouse Shop in the United Kingdom.
On the desk are some 1:12 artisan miniature ink bottles, a pen, a blotter, a roller and a cloisonné letter opener all made by the Little Green Workshop in England who specialise in high end, high quality miniatures. The ink bottles are made from tiny faceted crystal beads and have sterling silver bottoms and lids. The pen, roller and ink blotter are also sterling silver, and the bottom of the blotter is made of real black felt, cut meticulously to size to fit snugly inside the frame. The letter opener with its beautiful real cloisonné handle in green and blue is made of brass. The letter rack behind the owl under glass is also made of brass and is a piece by the Little Green Workshop.
The books on the table are all covered in fine kid leather or suede. They, the spectacles made of wire, the calendar, and the letter are all artisan miniatures made by an unknown artist and were also sourced from Kathleen Knight’s Dollhouse Shop.
The family photos on the desk and hanging on the wall are all real photos, produced to high standards in 1:12 size on proper photographic paper by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire. The large silver frame on the right-hand side of the photo hanging on the wall is actually a sterling silver miniature frame. It was made in Birmingham in 1908 and is hallmarked on the back of the frame. It has a red leather backing. The other frames are from various online miniatures suppliers, and all are metal.
The pipe stand with pipes on the right of the photograph is cast from pewter by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces. It has been hand-painted by me.
The Chippendale desk itself is made by Bespaq, and it has a mahogany stain, and the design is taken from a real Chippendale desk. Its surface is covered in red dioxide red dioxide leather with a gilt trim. Bespaq is a high-end miniature furniture maker with high attention to detail and quality.
The gold flocked Edwardian wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend.