East West and Upside Down: Miniatures in Taiwan

Rose Mansion by Reginald Twigg

The reason I wanted to go to Taiwan was to see the Miniatures Museum in Taipei. Opened in 1997, this is a private museum built to house the collection of Lin Wen Jen and his wife. They had been collecting miniatures picked up on their travels for years and have commissioned major pieces from some of the world's best miniature artists. There are hundreds of displays of dollhouses, room boxes, historical back street scenes, toy soldiers, fantasyscapes and sculptured dolls. There's a miniature Buckingham Palace and also this enormous pink house called Rose Mansion which believe it or not was the PhD thesis of one Reginald Twigg. (I think I feel another advanced degree coming on).This 1885 mansion was once a Los Angeles landmark, since demolished. Twigg was studying the history of architecture and constructing this house was part of his dissertation. His original sponsors were in a tragic accident killing the husband and seriously injuring the wife, and the Lins stepped in to support the project through its completion. Historical research and construction of the 1:12 scale house took over 4 years. Mr. Lin considers this piece to be the center of the collection, pleased he could have contributed to its creation. It greats you as you walk into the first room of the museum and he uses it in his logo. Just looking at all those exterior wood tiles makes me laugh. I too put them on one by one on the roof of my one room witch's house, a Halloween project. It took me over a year to finish the roof. All my projects, no matter what they are or done in what medium, take forever. It might be called attention deficit.

Halloween Witch's House, since completed. It only comes out for the month of October.

Click on any of these pictures to see a larger, clearer view.

Within hours of landing in Taipei, we were at the museum, and I was beyond thrilled to see included in the collection about half a dozen room boxes created by the American miniaturist Brooke Tucker. I have admired her work for years and years but until now had only seen it in magazines.

This Brooke Tucker boy's room was commissioned by Lin Wen-Jen for his grandson. I had seen it before in a magazine and couldn't believe my eyes when there it was, "live" in the museum.

This miniature miniature train set in the corner actually works!

The first two pictures are where I first saw this room box - I scanned it from a 1998 issue of Miniature Collector magazine. The darker pictures are ones I took through the plexiglass of the museum display last week. My miniature jones goes way way back. I still have issues from 1988 of the now defunct Nutshell News (or Nutcase News as Maristella used to call it, and she'll get no argument from me). However the real beginnings are to be found when I was 8 or so, when I built a two-room apartment on a shelf (room boxes?) for Angelique and Satoochi. I never played with Barbie, only with these 2. They are now spending their retirement on proud display with their 2nd generation buddies from the 1990's. Can't wait for the fad to come around again.

Angelique and Satoochi

More museum room boxes from Brooke Tucker (unfortunately the colors aren't true, lighting and plexiglass not being kind to me, but you get the drift):

This sunken living room scene was the largest room box Brooke had created. It took her a year to complete. Compared to my creations that is blisteringly fast!

Saltwater aquarium. I don't THINK it works! You never know.

I went to Taipei with a half-full carry-on. I came back with a still not full carry-on. This is a first. Usually I have to buy another suitcase for all the loot I buy or at the very least my carry-on is stuffed and so heavy I have to check it. So why? Nothing to buy in Taiwan? Au contraire, I brought home miniatures from the National Palace Museum gift store. It won't all fit in my Treasure Shop so I'm contemplating what kind of new scene this might all fit beautifully in.