I have had a life-long love affair with dollhouse miniatures, and careers in art education and interior design. I hope to combine these life experiences to help other miniature enthusiasts get more out of this wonderful hobby we enjoy, a hobby that often reaches the level of an art form. Susan Downing
Facade of the Nuremberg House on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum
The Nuremberg House was made in 1673, and is the oldest dollhouse on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It is small, measuring approximately 42” high, 36” wide and 18” deep, much smaller than most “puppenhausen” made in Nuremberg during that period.
Categories: dollhouses, Great Dollhouses
Astolat Castle Grand Library, found in the Daily Mail
The rules of dollhouse shelves “accessorizing” are made to be broken. But give them some thought first. After all, some of these points go back eons. The ancient Greeks fretted over mixing black glazed pottery with unglazed terra-cotta. Following are rules of thumb* can be a guide to give your dollhouse shelves a sense of style, in any era.
Categories: accessorizing, bookcases, library
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Petronella Oortman’s Dolls House
In the 17th century, dolls houses were not toys. They were very expensive hobbies. Petronella Oortman’s Dolls House is the most famous of the three dolls houses at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This particular dolls house provides a detailed view of how affluent houses were once furnished.
What makes Petronella Oortman’s dolls house so unusual is that all the pieces were made in the same way, and using the same materials as their regular counterparts, built precisely to scale. It is decorated with original, miniature paintings and murals commissioned from successful Dutch artists. It features handcrafted wicker and upholstered furniture, sculpted ceiling reliefs, and marble flooring.
Petronella ordered her miniature porcelain from China and commissioned cabinetmakers, glassblowers, silversmiths, basket-weavers, and artists to furnish her dolls house. Her dolls house cost as much as an actual canal house in Amsterdam. She was so proud of her home that she had it portrayed in a painting.
When the dolls house was first displayed, the front door opened to a full garden complete with a working fountain. The copper pump in the cook room was functional. Unfortunately, these items and the garden have been lost.
You might also be interested in this article on the Sara Rothe cabinet dolls houses. And here’s an interesting Wikipedia article on Petronella Oortman’s Dolls House.
Susan Downing, with Patrick Owens
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I invite you to visit my Etsy Shop where I offer many accessories and pieces of furniture in 1:12 scale. Subscribers to this blog receive a discount on all Featured Products. Click here for details.
Categories: cabinet, Dutch, Great Dollhouses
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Sweetington Castle Library
I have been fascinated by the mysterious “Sweetington” since I stumbled on his beautiful photographs on Flickr. Was this person a miniaturist, a photographer? Had I read the captions more carefully I would have know that Tim Sitford is both.
Categories: room boxes
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