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By Anne Ewen, Curator of Art & Heritage
The exhibition Perfectly Precious will delight children and adults alike with selections of dollhouse rarities, antique toys and miniatures. Fine craft, function and whimsy combine to invoke awe, delight and humour.
Hundreds of one-of-a-kind and vintage collectables represent a scaled-down version of actual objects. Serious collectors or hobbyists normally collect thematically and by size but Catharine Robb Whyte’s collectables, from whom the majority of this exhibit is curated, are random and varied, addressing perhaps, her many eclectic interests and particular fascination with things small.
Staff were charmed by Catharine’s actual storage containers. Objects less than a metre in height are meticulously stored in small chests of drawers, tiny cartons and tin containers. A three-centimetre Beatrix Potter figurine dwarfs minuscule mice, kittens and puppies. Japanese ceramics, intricately woven baskets, a tiny silver tea set and other assorted treasures are some of the other precious objects chosen for the exhibition.
Included with appreciation from the Luxton Museum on Beaver Street in Banff, is a two-dimensional doll-house, and a toy featuring two swinging acrobats. The content of Perfectly Precious provides a fitting contrast and balance to the commanding presence of the art in the Large and in Charge exhibition.
Perfectly Precious will be on display in the Whyte Museum's Rummel Room from October 26, 2018 to January 27, 2019.
Read more about the Whyte Museum's exhibitions here.