Is that Westminster Abbey?

The model replica was captivating. It instantly got my attention with its detailed woodwork and its enormous size. It had been on display at the auction house for a couple weeks, reminding us that at the next Decorative Arts sale, one of us buyers could take it home.

But where the heck would you put it in your house? It was nearly 4 1/2 feet long, 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. Getting it off the table would take a forklift (okay, a small forklift). Click on the photo below for a full view.

The auction sheet described it as a “Large Folk Art Model of Westminster Abbey Cathedral.” It didn’t look much like Westminster Abbey, but it was certainly a cathedral – maybe it was the maker’s impression of the famed building where royals and the less-noble have wedded, prayed, and been crowned at and buried in for centuries. The architecture and look made the model feel so very familiar; I knew I’d seen that building before.

It was a beauty, though, so delicately crafted in thin carved wood that the auction sheet described as “cutout gingerbread.” Some of the cutouts were so thin that they looked like they would break if you stared at them too hard. In fact, several broken pieces were lying in different spots on top of the cathedral, apparently from too much handling and too many moves. Dust had also caked up on the horizontal surfaces, the result of someone not giving the cathedral the proper care.

You’d probably want to display this piece of art in glass or hard plastic so you won’t spend a lot of time dusting the small crevices.

What I also found intriguing about the cathedral was its origin. Who made the pieces and assembled them? And how long did it take? Was it commercially made? Was it constructed from a kit? In Googling, I found one site that was selling smaller kits for other buildings and monuments. Take a look at these Lego models of famous buildings around the world, pulled together by SpeckyBoy Design Magazine. The Lego building identified as Westminster Abbey is actually the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben at one end.

With the model at auction, I could imagine a very patient person taking his or her time affixing the small pieces ever so gently over months and years. It would be cheap therapy.

If this model is actually Westminster Abbey, the new owner just bought a piece of history at an historic time for the British. The real Westminster will be the site of the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Here’s a Google 3-D map of the wedding procession route showing the exterior of Westminster Abbey and other London buildings.

I wasn’t around when the cathedral sold at auction, but it went for $160, with two people coveting it. It had been estimated to sell for $300 to $500.