The Collection

The Davenport desk in 1/12th scale replicates an 18th century writing table built to fit in a ship’s small cabin. By John Davenport, no known relation.

The Kathleen Savage Browning Miniatures Collection has been a five decades long labor of love that has taken Kaye Browning around the globe and into the studios of the most talented miniatures artisans in the field. What has resulted is one of the finest collections of fine art miniatures in the world, now on display at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center in Maysville, Kentucky.

Kaye’s collection represents exquisite 1/12-scale miniatures (one inch to one foot) which have been created using the same materials and techniques master artisans have used throughout history to create the full-sized items. Imagine a perfect replica of a gold gilded Naderman harp and violins, violas, and cellos that can actually play musical notes, 18th century furniture handcrafted using 300-year-old wood, and the tiniest of necklaces, bracelets, and rings made from real gold, pearls, and gemstones.

Visitors to the KSB Miniatures Collection will see those and thousands of other individual art pieces, room boxes, houses, and vignettes in the 3,300-square-foot gallery which was built in 2007 to showcase the collection. From historically accurate re-creations to whimsical interpretations of fairy tales, every wall and display case offers insights into history, as well as artistry, providing miniaturists a view of world-class collectibles and unique educational experiences for the thousands of school children who have visited the gallery. In addition, groups from around the world have visited to see rare and one-of-a-kind items that are exclusive to the KSB Miniatures Collection, such as Spencer House, the magnificent re-creation of the ancestral home of Princess Diana. Created by artisans Kevin Mulvany and Susie Rogers, the structure is filled with three floors of fine furnishings and decorative arts objects all true to the mid-1700s era. Many items are exact 1/12-scale replicas of items currently displayed in the palatial London town house.

Kaye Browning beside the Cox Building in 1/12th scale.

Many other time periods and geographical locations are featured throughout the gallery including three fine-scale structures historically significant to Maysville. The Cox Building, an 1887 Richardsonian Romanesque brick building which holds memories for anyone who has lived in the charming Ohio River town, the 19th century Bethel Baptist Church which burned to the ground in 1977 and the iconic Russell Theatre, one of only a small number of atmospheric theaters left in the country today.