Cabinet dolls’ house
A cabinet with a whole household in miniature – a collector’s piece for adults in the 17th century, not a child’s toy.
In the Netherlands and Germany wealthy families in the 17th century had cabinets built with miniature households. They were costly collector’s pieces, and one of the best known, Petronella Oortman’s, cost almost as much as a real house.
The Nuremberg dolls’ houses were also used to teach girls how to run a household. Only in the 19th century did the dolls’ house become an ordinary children’s toy.
Materials: Oak or walnut, silver, porcelain, textiles
Manufacture: The cabinet was built by joiners; the miniatures were ordered from silversmiths, glassblowers and other craftsmen.
A cabinet with doors, not a house with a façade.
Exact miniatures: silver, porcelain, paintings and books.
Rooms arranged as a real household, with kitchen, store and parlour.