Quartermaine Hall

Artisan: Country Treasures (Laura Brownhill)
Date: 2021
Inscriptions: signed, dated and inscribed ‘Common Blue, Tortoiseshell and Clouded Yellow butterflies by Laura Brownhill 2021’ (on label on the underside)
Dimensions: 34 x 25 x 25 mm; 1 ⅜ x 1 x 1 inches (height x width x depth)
Intended Room: Felix’s Bedroom
Bought from: Miniatura October 2021
Inventory number: 2021.049

Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist at Miniatura at Stoneleigh Park, October 2021.

This natural history display is by the amazingly talented Laura Brownhill of Country Treasures. It shows three butterflies – a common blue, a tortoiseshell and a clouded yellow – poised over a tussock of grass and wildflowers. I bought it from Laura’s stand at Miniatura in October 2021, hard-pressed to choose between the different arrangements of butterflies. She has even gone to the trouble of identifying the butterflies on the bottom, for which I was grateful, as I’m no naturalist. The label on the base also bears her signature ‘Laura Brownhill’ and the date 2021. It was originally bought for the Parlour, but has mysteriously found its way into Felix’s room, one of his prized possessions, which inspires him in his own butterfly collecting.