Musical Miniatures
Opening up a tiny world in a big way, these musical miniatures are created using scale diagrams, crafted meticulously, and finished with obsessive attention to detail. Materials range, depending on the instrument and the level of detail called for, from paperboards and paints to exotic veneering and hand-carved woods. Like a palm-sized museum piece, each miniature is a microcosmic homage to the ingenuity and history of classical acoustic musical instruments.
A grand piano in rosewood, a double manual Flemish harpsichord, and cello (one of two sister models made). Each miniature musical instrument was crafted from combinations of wood and paperboard. Every component, however small, was made from scratch, from the carved maple bridge of the cello to the raised white sharp keys of the harpsichord.
The 'Peter Turner' piano, in concert view. Moving parts include the desk, the stick (full and half), and the lid. The bench is topped with genuine leather.
A close up of the keyboard. The desk goes up and down, and the black sharps are raised.
Close up of the pedal lyre with pedals, and brass-tone casters.
Detail of the faux cast iron frame and cross-strung strings. As with the real thing, the bass strings are thicker and copper-coloured; a soundboard lies underneath.
Double manual harpsichord in the Flemish style. Articulated parts include the fall board, the lid, the desk, and the stick. The bench, like the piano's, is topped with leather.
Detail of the keywell trimmed in Flemish decorative papers, showing the individually contoured keys. The tuning pins are made of bits of 0.5 mm mechanical pencil lead.
Miniature cello, one of two made. The body is made of birch wood, and stained with a custom, red wine glaze. Details include a retractable endpin, carved maple bridge, a soundpost, the maker's name below the left F-hole, a fingerboard made of ebony wood, and a bow with genuine horse hair.
Second of two identical miniature cellos.
This one has its own miniature flight case, and was gifted as a set to cellist Alyssa Ramsay.
Faux flamed maple back, a feature of both miniature cellos.
