Petit cabinet de curiosités

More Egyptian antiquities

2012-03-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

The owner of my "Cabinet de curiosités" spent a lot of time in Egypt, buried in the darkest shops of
Old Cairo. Guess what he has found this time behind a dirty curtain in the rear room of a perfumes shop.

I believe that they sell real antiquities coming from unauthorised excavations in the Memphite necropolis. The 1 inch scale necropolis of course ! Or perhaps it is a good forgery.

The paintings are still so fresh that they seems to be brand new [and for good reason...].

It's a canopic jars chest placed under the protection of the "4 sons of Horus" Hapi, Imsety, Duamutef and Qebehsenuef. They are anoint by the 4 funerary goddesses : Isis, Nephtys, Neith and Serket.

Qebehsenuef, the hawk, protects the intestines of the dead placed in the canopic jar, and is protected by Serket the goddess, making a libation over his head.

Imsety, the human, protects the liver and is protected by Isis

Duamutef, the jackal, protects the stomach and is protected by Neith

Hapi, the baboon, protects the lungs and is protected by Nephtys

Next time, I'll show you the inside. I didn't have the time to make the canopy jars yet.

An Egyptian king's jewels

2012-03-01T11:37:00.002-08:00

The collector from the "Cabinet de curiosités" came back from Egypt with a new piece for his collection. He bought a large necklace, a Wseh collar in a small dark shop, hidden in the old soukh of Luxor, a town in front of the Valley of the Kings. Obviously this collar was made for a king. Its beads are precious stones : lapis lazuli, turquoise, cornelian, all well preserved, and the same goes for the golden frame. The collar is fastened with two Horus falcon heads. The seller says it was found in a remote tomb of the Valley of the Kings.

It is now displaid with the two Egyptian cats and the ibis. This is the beginning of a great Egyptian collection. Don't forget that my "Cabinet de curiosités" was established well before 1922, the year the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon. Perhaps they've found ideas there....

Giveaway - And the winner is...

2012-02-28T10:54:00.002-08:00

Today is the day !

We have 58 participants. I'll give each one a number, in the order they appear in the comments. I just added Cockerina at the beginning of february 15, she had problems with Blogger and could not leave a comment but would like to participate.

1.The Old Maid
2.Eliana
3.Carmen
4.Ilona
5.Katrina
6.Ana
7.Mati
8.Rocinash
9.Teruka
10.Doortje
11.Eva
12.Maria Blanca
13.Patrizia
14.Tink-Sonia
15.Auzilio
16.Cunha
17.Rosella
18.Lara
19.Maria Ireland
20.Patty
21.Miniaturas y vintage - Silvia
22.EVminiatures - Ericka
23.Malu2
24.Niunka
25.Fabiola
26.El Bichillo
27.Criscolas
28.Ivana
29.Hankhara
30.Plushpussycat
31.Heidi
32.Sognatriceabordo
33.Yolanda
34.Loly Rodriguez
35.NarinaNapertaa - Irina
36.Maria - Il Cucchiaino Magico
37.Cristina
38.Carmen
39.Cockerina - Caterina
40.Miniaturas y vintage
41.Yolandaj
42.Craftland
43.Luisa
44.Ascension
45.Carla
46.Pinehaven
47.Cote
48.Angeles
49.Blanche
50.Wildflower
51.Drora minimundo
52.Miniaturista - Maite
53.Jorgelina
54.Elis
55.Paky
56.Liliam
57.Aristacrina
58.Petra
I asked my daughter to give me a number between 1 and 58, and she said 18.
So the winner is Lara, number 18. I hope you will enjoy your new shoes ! I contact you by email in order to send you the shoes.

100 followers GIVEAWAY

2012-02-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

The "Petit Cabinet de Curiosités" has now 100 followers. To celebrate this achievement, it's time to organize the first Giveaway. I have here a pair of floral shoes waiting for a new "chic" home.
The rules are universal : you have to be a follower, you leave me a comment - a nice one !

The draw will take place on Tuesday, February 28th.

2012-01-31T02:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you Katrina for this award. It's the first one for my blog !
http://nukkekatisonaatti.blogspot.com

A dinosaur in my Cabinet

2012-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

A small dinosaur of undetermined species and unknown era took place in the Cabinet. The skull comes from secret excavations under my dollhouse. I built the display box for the monster. That box was easy to make, because it wasn't Godzilla-sized, just tiny bat-sized.

I also added some shells in the display table

And found a new home for my naturalised seahorse.

Egyptian cat mummy

2012-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Curiosities Cabinet is proud to present two new additions to the Egyptian fund. Two cat mummies of the Late Period coming from the necropolis of Tell el-Ashmounein. Of course they are 1:12 scale and made of FIMO, the wrapping is particularly meticulous but not made of linen [I didn't have fine linen ].

Art Nouveau carpet

2012-01-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

At last I finished this carpet. I can't remember how many hours I have worked on this one, but I'm satisfied with the results. I eventually have the colours and the the design I planned.

Witch travel trunk

2011-11-29T12:49:00.001-08:00

I had planned a few years ago to build a witch cottage. I know it's not original, but I like witches, so I've decided to make witch stuff anyways. Some three years ago, I bought an Orchid kit by Greenleaf to make this witch cottage, or maybe a fairy house, or the house of Little Red Riding Hood's granny, or the house of the seven dwarves in Snow White or ... something else. The kit is safely kept under my bed, it follows me untouched moving after moving. I have made more and more witch stuff and Harry Potter items. I have built a Harrry Potter shop, called "Les Dragons Azimutés" , but still no cottage. My world of wizzardry is always on the move, which is why I needed a travel trunk especially designed for witches.

Witch travel trunk done

Luggage for vampire slayer

2011-11-15T13:16:00.001-08:00

I found a very uniquecase for my Curiosities Cabinet in a dusty antique shop. It’s a collectorluggage especially conceived for vampire hunters. It seems to be a tool casefrom the end of the nineteenth century belonging to a vampire slayer.

Beyondthe portraits of Vlad Tepes and Elisabeth Bathory, two of the most well-knownvampires in the world (except for Edward and Bella), we can see all the toolsneeded to get rid of vampires: a hammer and a stake to stick right into theirheart, holly water, garlic, crucifix, and a Bible to keep them away from theliving ones.

There is also a pistol with silver bullets. Not all specialistsare convinced that vampires are sensible to silver, some say it only works againstwerewolves. They are there just in case. Our hunter also had a mirror to makesure it was a real vampire he was dealing with, as well as a board showingvarious forms of bats. Vampires liked to change into these animals, thus theneed to be able to identify the species.

All these items are packed in a verypractical small case, designed to travel even in the Carpathians. I noticedthere is no trace of a bottle of True Blood to feed them if necessary. Maybethis kind of drink was only created later…

A new gem for the curiosity cabinet

2011-10-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I have been away frommy miniature world for a while. During this summer, the real world and my housethere kept me busy painting, fixing, and sewing. But now I’m back in my mini workshop.The Art Nouveau house is crying for new furniture and more items in thecuriosity cabinet.

I’m still working onmy carpet, intended to be used in the sitting room. It’s so tiny, I think Ihave enough work for the next 3 years, if everything goes right.

I have built andpainted a display cabinet to store shells and stones.

The collection hasgrown with the arrival of a new curiosity: the skeleton of a hand with sixfingers. This hand goes back to the Sixteenth century and is said to belong toa very big man, six feet tall, of the family of Anne Boleyn. This is a veryrare example of polydactyly with a complete functioning sixth digit containingbones. A gem for the collection!

More Curiosities

2011-05-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

I have prepared new settings in "The Cabinet", using a large amount of pieces I have collected over the years.

First, I don't remember who made this Tiffany lamp but I'm sure I bought it in New York at "Tiny Dollhouse". The telescope, the armillary and the cannon-noon gun - a real curiosity of obscure purpose - are by Nantasy Fantasy. For the orrery I used a kit from Ericka Van Horn.

On the new table, a collection of rock crystals and a tiny piece of amber with an even tinier fly trapped inside.

I just finished the skull display : a mayan crystal skull, a tiny bone skull - quite normal for a skull - and a Mixtec human skull partially overlaid with turquoise mosaïc.

In the bedroom

2011-05-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on my house's rooms. Some new and older pieces have take place in the setting.

I have made some custo of broken Bespaq furniture, I changed the upholstery of the chair : it's now a peacock print, very William Morris.

The hat is by Marie-France Beglan. The black box with brooch and the compact by LXL-Cruces-Miniaturas. I have made the tapestry handbag in a workshop with Cilla Hallbert.

The dresser set in tortoise shell is by St Leger. I 've made the gloves and the bottles.

The Neil Carter shell lamp on the mantel of the Art Nouveau fireplace.

My "Lady of Shallot" hanging on the wall of the bedroom, painted by Aidan Campbell.

New Treasures for my Art Nouveau house

2011-05-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the Kensington Dollhouse Festival with a bag full of treasures and ideas. Today I will show you only the most important ones. I keep the others for another day.

The table was made by Kim Selwood, after an original by Hermann Obrist (1863-1927) a sculptor of the Jugenstil movement.

All the bronze pieces are by Neil Carter. The bust is a bronze by Agathon Leonard (1841-1923) a french Art Nouveau sculptor. The table lamp with shell is after an original by Gustav Gurschner (1873-1971) a renowned sculptor of the viennese Art Nouveau. The ibis is of egyptian origin and is meant to go in my Cabinet of curiosities with other archaeologicals findings to come.

Here is an english painting fitting in the period, The Lady of Schallot after a victorian ballad by Alfred Lord Tennyson, painted by Waterhouse (1849-1917) in the Pre-Raphaelite style. The 1/12 scale copy is by Aidan Campbell, an English artist in miniatures.

Some real books by Ellie de Lacy.

Those are two Atlas: one by Mercator going back to 1595, the other is a more recent Royal Atlas.

And, at last, the most brilliant pianist of the show, an automaton by Laurence & Angela St Leger. If that's not a curiosity !

Voodoo dolls in the mailbox

2011-05-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

I was away on vacations. When I came back this week, I found three tiny voodoo dolls in the mail. It's a gift from Erika EVminiatures. They are fantastic, just aged enough as if they had been already used, maybe they have...They are a special gift for my voodoo boat. Unfortunately the boat is not with me right now, I would have to wait before displaying them. Therefore I have had a better idea : they will be perfect in my Cabinet of Curiosities, with some other weird artifacts I just finished : shrunken heads !

The Voodoo Dolls

Thank you Erika, the dolls are really great.

Steamer trunk

2011-04-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

I was so happy with the results of my apothecary trunk that I can't stop the production anymore...
This one is more girlish, with pink stripes and crystal and golden bottles.

I will list this trunk on my Etsy !

Discovery of a naturalized Dodo in a private collection

2011-03-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

The Dodo will be the first piece for my Cabinet of Curiosities. This heavy flightless bird from Mauritius Island has been extinct until the late XVIIth Century. We have descriptions and drawings by Dutch travelers who visited the Island during the Sixteenth Century, some bones are preserved in Museums but no complete skeleton has been found. I have the chance to be the owner of the only naturalized Dodo known in the world…Of course he is 1:12 scale made in FIMO and flocking, with the addition of some feathers, but he is still very rare.

The FIMO part of the work.

Painting the Dodo

A new Dodo is born.

My Humpty Dumpty House little Etsy store

2011-03-05T04:06:00.000-08:00

www. humptydumptyhouse.etsy.com

I have opened my own Etsy store, the Humpty Dumpty House store, where I’m listing some of my handmade miniatures. I already have romantic shoes for sale, the kind Madame de Pompadour or Marie-Antoinette would have liked. I’m going to list the slippers right now. I will also sell other miniatures I have made in the recent past, like my stamps collector desk. I hope you will enjoy it.

Evolution

2011-02-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

In Manhattan, there is a very interesting store for anyone looking for curiosities, oddities, taxidermy, natural history...

Even if you make miniatures you can find something there. I came back with new pieces for my Cabinet of Curiosities. Here are the first pieces for my mini cabinet...the others- I still have to make them- are not ready.

Tiny coloured shells, a fossil ammonite, a fossil sea urchin and at the bottom some extrasmall rock crystals.

Also a really tiny seahorse and a starfish. I have added my miniature magnifying glass to give you the size. The skull was carved in a bone in Indonesia.

You can use the magnifier to see my last find, that's really the best one : fossil amber from the Baltic with a mosquito or something trapped inside. I will play "Jurassic Park". Next time I'll show you my dinosaurs !

Potions trunk

2011-02-05T04:13:00.000-08:00

I'd like to have an old trunk like Professor Horace Slughorn's in the Half-Blood Prince. So, I've made my own potions trunk. I used wood, cardboard, copper foil, paper, faux leather, beads, glass bottles...

At this stage the trunk still needs some bronze painting and some aging too.

Now it's better, the trunk travelled around the world and gained stickers.

The nice apothicary bottles are by Gerd Felka.

Cabinets de Curiosités

2011-01-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome “followers’, I’m really happy to see you here, and to read that you like my miniatures. Sometimes, when you are alone with your PC and your camera, you don’t know if what you are doing is wrong or right, especially when you try to compare with the other blogs full of wonderful miniatures and dream houses. Whatever !

I’m working on a house – that I’ve had for almost two years! – where I plan to fit out a Cabinet of Curiosities . It’s a long shot idea and the very reason why I called this blog “Petit Cabinet de Curiosités”. I just bought an excellent book on all kind of cabinets from the Sixteen century to present days and I can’t resist to show it. It’s really an extraordinary book both for text and photos.

Patrick Mauriès - Cabinets de Curiosités –Gallimard 2002.

The original edition is in English, published by Thames and Hudson, but is very difficult to find. I’m sure that miniaturists can find in it a basket full of new ideas. Now, the challenge is to convert ideas into objects!

Struggling with wisteria

2011-01-16T04:46:00.000-08:00

The front of my Art Nouveau house looks empty. I thought it wise to add some life there. And what's better for a welcoming entry than some climbing plants. I love wisteria, but that's not the easiest one to make. I began with a nice kit I bought at the Kensington Dollhouse Festival. But kits are usually to small, with not enough wire for the surrounding of the door, not enough petals to make the flowers [ and a grown up wisteria has a lot of flowers ], not the appropriate colour, paper too heavy for those flowers. I'm not satisfied with my plants and there begins the struggle ... how to achieve a more realistic look ! I'm still browsing the web for any kind of picture and any kind of tutorial. I'm gluing confetti together to form a 8 shape and there are so many flowers that it will surely keep me busy for the next two months.

Pinky cupcakes

2010-12-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

I spent more than a week baking cupcakes, FIMO cupcakes. They seem so delightful and so easy to make when I see them on other blogs, made by artisans. But the truth is that it's very difficult to make something round and creamy looking like an actual cupcake. First the pastry is too yellow or too white, then the paper lining is not pleated but wrinkled, and the cream is collapsing. Eventually, I have some white and pink cupcakes for my display !

The Stamps Collector Desk

2010-11-21T06:25:00.000-08:00

I spent some time trying to put nice books together. I mean miniatures books ! I now have books of all kinds : some you can open and others you can't, some you can read and others you can't, some truly false and others not really false. And, at last, I came to miniaturize Pictures Albums and Stamps Albums.

Here are the results with the stamps. I used a kit from "House of Miniatures" ( It's an old one...I have a big stock of those ). I created the philatelist's desk with all the needed stuff including the magnifier. The stamps are sticks one by one and there is a leftover box for exchanges. Yes, Have a good look at it !

Wait, I forgot the regular books ! I love these ones

Incredible but true : they are made of paper, but also marbled paper, faux leather and - That's what I'm very proud of - the sheets are stitched like in the good real books...but, inside, there is nothing to read.

Romantic shoes

2010-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm in the mood for "I like Marie-Antoinette style". I already had some shoes of this kind in my shelves, I added some more with pinky romantic colours. All the shoes are 1:12 scale. The armchair is an old broken Bespaq completely reupholstered.

Vierge sous globe

2010-11-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

Je viens de terminer une petite décoration de cheminée ou de table (là, je n'avais pas de cheminée de libre). Petite, à l'échelle 1/12ème, bien sûr ! La vierge est en FIMO sous son manteau bleu traditionnel et ses dentelles. Elle est couverte d'une cloche de verre, comme on faisait autrefois pour protéger les objets de la poussière. Je trouve finalement qu'elle ne fait pas très sérieux, plus petite poupée que Vierge Marie !

I just finished a little - miniature 1:12 - Madonna statue under a glass dome. She is made of FIMO, blue fabric and lace. But, she is too cute a little doll, there is a lack of solemnity here ...!

The Killer Queen

2010-11-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

I open this new blog with an old photo of my miniatures. About one year ago, I finished the antique distressed painting off a Bespaq sofa and chair, I had changed the fabric for and old "Marie Antoinette" flowery cotton. After watching, one more time, the movie about the same queen, by Sofia Coppola, I added the little shoes, made of the same fabric than the sofa. This is a Louis XV sofa, not a Louis XVI, but wathever... Later I placed the tray and the Champagne bottle in the setting , bought from Taller Targioni, and I finished dedicating the whole to another Queen.

Do you remember that old song by Queen ?

She keeps Moet et Chandon
In her pretty cabinet
'Let them eat cake' she says
Just like Marie Antoinette
A built-in remedy
For Khroutchev and Kennedy
At anytime an invitation
You can't decline

Caviar and cigarettes
Well versed in etiquette
Extraordinarily nice

Killer Queen by Queen