Showcase of artworks made in the Southern Tablelands

And, in its time, it was no ordinary staircase, but one taken from the Jembaicumbene stables of Archer, winner of the first two Melbourne Cups.

Braidwood’s new Artisan’s Gallery will open this Friday night, October 14.

The gallery, which looks out onto the hills to the north of Braidwood, was built from locally sourced materials by craftsman Hugh Krijnen.

The displays include Krijnen’s intricately carved horses alongside the work of local craftsmen John Bunn and Don Raper.

Photographs by the internationally recognised Peter Kneen also line the walls of the retail gallery space.

Krijnen’s carvings, inspired by a lifelong love of all things equine, range from full sized rocking horses to miniature articulated horses. 

They each display lifelike attention to detail. The horse carved from the Jembaicumbene stables’ staircase is only a foot or so long, sized for a tabletop.

The lifelike miniatures are a unique style, developed solely by Krijnen. Further examples of Krijnen’s work, such as symbolic bronze sculptures, are included in the display.

Photographs by Kneen include a landscape taken on the Blue Rag Fire Trail in the Victorian Alps which, in 2014, was numbered among the best landscape photographs by the ‘International Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards’. His works reveal the beautiful Southern Tablelands scenery, and the surrounding regions.

The gallery includes a range of tables carved by Krijnen from Australian hardwoods and by Raper from the burls of red gums. The burls from Raper’s tables are sourced from the Darling River around Bourke in northern NSW and thought to be up to 600 years old.

Built from local materials such as Ironbark timber re-purposed from the old Ballaba Bridge, the building has housed everything from several restaurants, to cafes and a wine bar.

The Artisan’s Gallery is at 183 Wallace St, Braidwood, and will be open Friday to Monday, 10am-4pm, or by appointment.