(April 2011) We don’t need to put in our two cents at all cost. But occasionally… e.g. regarding the royal wedding scheduled to take place on the 29th of this month, we can’t help ourselves. Not that BusinessStone.com is a gossip publication for the jet set. But the „Royals“… well that’s a whole new ball game.
Take, for example, Queen Mary’s famous Queen’s Dolls’ House, richly stocked with marble elements, designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in the style of a royal residence and assembled by some of the finest craftsmen and artist of the time between 1921 and 1924.
This miniature masterpiece of craftsmanship was never conceived as a toy but rather to convey an impression of the style of British aristocracy’s living conditions on a scale of 1′ to 1″. Some of the more remarkable details include a 1.52 m-high and 4.5 t wine cellar complete with miniature wine bottles or the kitchen with a mouse in a mouse-traps under the wakeful gaze of a ceramic cat, not to mention the fully functional elevators and flushing WC’s.
The flooring, stairwell, and walls of the lounge are crafted from the finest black and white marble. The King’s bathroom is also bestowed with fine stonework.
„The Queen’s Dolls’ House“, Lucinda Lambton, Royal Collection Publications, 12,95 £, ISBN 978-1-905686-26-1 is a recent rendition of the work.
A number of lovely books have been published on the subject of Westminster Abbey, founded in 960 A.D., where the Royal Wedding will take place. Those of our readers fortunate enough to be invited to the nuptial ceremony should not miss visiting Chapter House, famous for its double doorway with a large tympanum above. Simple architectural means create special spatial effects. The building was recently renovated.
The stone abbey was built around 1045–1050 by King Edward the Confessor as part of his palace. Behind the high altar of the Chapel the legendary Stone of Scone, a thick sandstone slab often referred to as the Coronation Stone, captured by Edward I as spoil of war, the Stone was kept. It was taken to Westminster Abbey in 1297 and fitted into a wooden chair known as King Edward’s Chair, on which most subsequent English sovereigns have been crowned. The Stone was returned to Scotland in 1996 and has since been kept in Edinburgh Castle from whence it will be transported to London on short notice whenever a Coronation takes place. Today, the Stone symbolizes the unification of England and Scotland according to Wikipedia.
The Dolls’ House is exhibited in Windsor Castle.
