Month: May 2025

Design work by Luigi Valadier. Living from 1726 to 1785, he was Rome’s best known silversmith for quite a while. I don’t know if these designs were used in actual pieces. I just know that they are not the design sketches used for some of his actual pieces which are in a different blog post here.

Design for the Front of a Pronaos: This drawing depicts an extraordinary object (now lost) that was once part of the deser of the Bailli de Breteuil. The two columns must have been veneered with lapis lazuli, and the little pronaos, or vestibule, was decorated with a dragon-like creature on the attic and a Medusa head between the columns. ca. 1788. Roman/Italian. Pen, ink, and watercolor on paper. Workshop of Luigi Valadier (1726–1785). Collections of the Museo Napoleonico, Rome. Image © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali — Museo Napoleonico but found on the Frick website because it was part of an exhibition there. https://www.frick.org/exhibitions/valadier/4_41
An Inkstand in Rococo Style. 1764. Roman/Italian. Pen and brown ink, with brown and red wash, over graphite, on paper. Luigi Valadier, artist/silverworker (1726–1785). Signed and dated at lower left, in pen and brown ink, Luigi Valadier Fecit Roma 1764.
Watermark: fleur-de-lis in shield, surmounted by crown, (Strasbourg lily). Collections of the Morgan Library and Museum. Image © Morgan Library and Museum. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. https://www.themorgan.org/drawings/item/142939
Head of a Boar on a Servizio Borghese Oval Plate. ca. 1783. Roman/Italian. Pen, gray and black ink, gray brownish watercolor on pencil; brown sand and pink watercolor for the head of the boar. Atelier of Luigi Valadier
(Rome 1726-1785). https://www.carlovirgilio.it/en/opera/atelier-of-luigi-valadier-head-of-a-boar/
Design for a Gold and Silver Bishop’s Reliquary. Late 18th c, by 1785. Roman/Italian. Pen and black ink, brush with gray, yellow, red and blue wash, highlighted with white gouache over lead or graphite on cream laid paper; framing lines in pen and brown ink. Luigi Valadier (1726-1785). Letter watermark. Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image © 2000–2024 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artwork in the public domain. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/340371

Dollhouses and other Miniature Worlds for May 31st, the last day in the 2025 spring show . . .

pirouetting on air on the blush of a Georgia peach ripening in the sun as a few blocks away in the middle of the night something starts to glow in the terrariums in the back of the garden shop greenhouse . . . oh no . . . the plants digging each other up and redoing the arrangements the way they want . . . pale green on the right with all the ferns on the left and not mixed in anymore with the pretty tiny orchids . . . better begin now . . .everything needing to be ready for the wedding planner and her reception hall . . . a few more jolts of coffee and . . . Start!

the last post in my spring series. It’ll be back next April with my fall pre Halloween series starting September 1st and the winter series on December 1st.

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/dollhouses-and-other-miniature-worlds-4b2

1930s ish interior spaces somewhere in Britain with no people sitting on the sofa. Must have all gone out, hopefully somewhere with chocolate cake and strawberries with cream washed down with lime squashes until suppertime.

The Landing in Summer. 1930. English. Oil on canvas. Mary Dawson Elwell, painter (1874-1952). Signed and dated on the lower right. Image credit and © Grundy Art Gallery. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. via https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-landing-in-summer-150568 though I found it here https://www.threads.com/@beyondbloomsbury/post/DKMMI5dsnBd?fbclid=IwY2xjawKltbBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF4a0huNjk4TEtWV2dINnk1AR5MyKJhD9F_CdKJqZR-gx64k8uvzlxnvrNz6LDTsc9ICGjQCvCAO7j_bN21fQ_aem_cSK5wsBNeiS5zOVzye7rbQ
The Front Door. 1940. English. Oil on canvas. Mary Dawson Elwell, painter (1874-1952). Signed and dated on the lower right. Image credit and © Bradford Museums and Galleries. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-front-door-23218
A Sketch for Interior Saint Marys Close (Beverley). Undated, ca. 1930-1940, by 1952. English. Oil on panel. Mary Dawson Elwell, painter (1874-1952).  Inscribed and titled on the verso. Private collection. Image © 2025 David Duggleby Auctioneers & Valuers. Artwork itself in the public domain due to age. https://www.davidduggleby.com/auctions/2089/TheAutumnArtSale/53214/

Brightly colored tropical fish, something that was very exciting back when they were sending ships with artists out to bring back images of the South Seas or whenever the investors wanted them brought back from. From the Journal des Museum Godeffroy, published in Hamburg, Germany by L. Friederichsen & Company. 1909 but it looks like it is a later edition of a work that first came out in 1873, according to the dates with it and the website where I found it originally.

A and B. Coria venusta (Sandwich Ins/Island) – C. Julis güntheri (Gesellschafts Ins/Island). Image 142 from Fische der Südsee Heft VIII Taf. 144, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. Werner and Winter, Frankfurt, Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft XVI. American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n142/mode/1up
A. Coris annulata – B. Julis fusca.   Image 146 from Fische der Südsee Heft VII Taf. 148, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. Werner and Winter, Frankfurt, Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft XVI. American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n148/mode/1up
A. Julis whitmii – B&C Julis duperreyi, male and female. Page 152 of Fische der Südsee Heft VIII Taf. 148, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. J Green Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft XVI (Issue 16). American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n152/mode/1up
Callyodon sandwicensis. Page 158 of Fische der Südsee Heft VIII Taf. 151, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. J Green Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft XVI. American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n158/mode/1up
Pseudocarus forsteri.  Page 166 of Fische der Südsee Heft VIII Taf. 155, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. Werner and Winter, Frankfurt, Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft XVI. American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n166/mode/1up
A. Ophichthys Garretti (Gesellschafts Island) – B. Muraena xanthospila (Samoa).  Page 320 of Fische der Südsee Heft IXI Taf. 168, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. J Green Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft IX. American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n320/mode/1up

Diodon bleekeri (Gesellschafts – Ins).  Page 350 of Fische der Südsee Heft IXI Taf. 178, Beschrieben and redigieren von Albert C. L. G. Gunther, vormale Vorstand des Zoologischen Departments des Britischen Museums. J Green Chromolithographers. Published in 1909. Journal des Museum Goddefroy Heft IX. American Museum of Natural History Library. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/journaldesmuseum06muse/page/n350/mode/1up?view=theater

I didn’t find this one by myself, either. I found it here https://schierenberg.nl/category/travel-and-exploration/product/64202 up for sale and then I found a scanned version on the Internet Archive. I think these plates and the book they are part were probably published as a series of articles and lithographs and then were turned into the book these are taken from. This would explain the varying dates.

Dollhouses and other Miniature Worlds for Tuesday May 27th in the 2025 spring show.

sparking on air on the tongue of a mother jaguar giving her baby a bath as in the fiber artist’s studio somewhere on etsy the yarn ravels and reworks itself . . . a baby leaf or maybe a panda bear . . . so what if the color is wrong . . . you can be a hot pink panda bear or a purple chimpanzee if you want. . . just squeeze your eyes tight enough and make a wish . . .

my spring series post for today over on my Substack at the link if you’d like to see. It includes this image:

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/dollhouses-and-other-miniature-worlds-595

Heading downstairs from the nursery to sneak a few cookies before tea. Maybe after tea, too. Depends on how good the sandwiches are. If they are deviled ham, forget it. Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont artist. Born in Belgium, she spent time in the United States but then married an Englishman and moved there.

Private Dining Room, Thoresby Hall. Undated, by 1984. Oil on canvas. Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont, artist (1889-1984). Thoresby Courtyard Collection. © Estate of the artist. Image © The Stonebridge Trust. Image credit: The Pierrepont Collection. via artuk.org https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/2025–actor:pierrepont-marie-louise-roosevelt-18891984/page/2 but I found it here https://www.instagram.com/beyondbloomsbury/p/DKDC77Io4GW/?hl=en
Large Drawing Room with a Malachite Fireplace, Cliffe Castle. Undated, by 1984. Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont, artist. Signed on the lower right. Cliffe Castle Museum Collections. © Estate of the artist. Image © The Stonebridge Trust. Image credit: Bradford Museums and Galleries. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/large-drawing-room-with-a-malachite-fireplace-cliffe-castle-23682/search/2025–actor:pierrepont-marie-louise-roosevelt-18891984/page/1/view_as/grid


Lady Rozelle as a Child. Undated, by 1984. Oil on canvas. Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont, artist (1889-1984). Signed on the lower right. Thoresby Courtyard Collection. © Estate of the artist. Image © The Stonebridge Trust. Image credit: The Pierrepont Collection. via artuk.org https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/lady-rozelle-as-a-child-229904/search/2025–actor:pierrepont-marie-louise-roosevelt-18891984/page/3/view_as/grid
Dining Room. Undated, by 1984. Oil on canvas. Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont, artist (1889-1984). Signed on the lower right. Thoresby Courtyard Collection. © Estate of the artist. Image © The Stonebridge Trust. Image credit: The Pierrepont Collection. via artuk.org https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/dining-room-229899/search/2025–actor:pierrepont-marie-louise-roosevelt-18891984/page/3/view_as/grid

Dollhouses and other Miniature Worlds for May 25th in the MMXXV spring show . . .

meandering on air as the little boy rides out the door on his new tricycle as somewhere backstage the giraffes crane their necks higher . . . in the next two scenes and not enough time to escape anywhere and come back . . . the fog machine going like mad and hardly able to breathe . . . better than the one last year though that made everyone look neon pink when the house lights went back up . . . weeks it took to scrub it off even with that smelly stuff from the aquarium store . . .

my spring series post for today over on my Substack at the link. It includes these two fun images. Both are paper art, one from France and the one with the popsicles is from South Korea.

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/dollhouses-and-other-miniature-worlds-0d6

Dollhouses and other Miniature Worlds for May 24th in the 2025 spring show . . .

waltzing on air on the tip of the sun god’s arrow as he fires away as somewhere down where the aquamarine sea meets the land a whisper and then a cry . . . the old village rising from the sand . . . forgotten when the fish went away and the tourists didn’t care to stay . . . but maybe . . . new children and their aunties . . . conch shells to hold against your ear and hear the sea roar, olden conch shells from before when the fish leapt out of the sea that the great mothers took along when they had to leave . . . calling everyone back to the same reach of the sand . . . come back . . . come back . . . it all awaits. . .

my spring series post for today over on my Substack at the link. It includes this fun image

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/dollhouses-and-other-miniature-worlds-9bd