D. B. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Laurentians area of Quebec. Active mid 20th century.
D. B. are the initials on a naive model of a mid-20th century Quebec house. It is signed on the bottom of the base in French: ‘Fait Par D. B. 1949’. The front of the house slides off showing the furnished interior – complete with light fixtures, kitchen cupboards and a mirror over the fireplace. The House has a tin roof and glass in the side windows. The round windows on the front appear to be celluloid. To make it interesting for a child perhaps; the artist incorporated into the base of the model a coin bank with a slot and a tiny padlock on a hinged door. While the mark on the base gives the date ‘1949’, the model itself appears to date from about 1930. There is a plastic Dog outside the house and a Cat in the Kitchen; they appear to be original. The model measures about 10 inches by 8 inches by 9 inches high.
A very fine example of a popular and universal concept. Many house miniatures were made with the idea of a gift to a child and many were made for fun and became something else. Most of them were ‘tour de force’ works such as this one is.
Quebec naive model of a mid-20th century house. Signed D. G.:
Miniature model of a Quebec House. G. B. 1949.
Detail A:
Quebec Miniature House.
Detail B:
Quebec Miniature House.
Detail C:
Quebec Miniature House.
Detail D:
Quebec Miniature House.
The mark of D. B.:
Quebec Miniature House. The mark.
