This doll’s house is a lifelike but at the same time idealised representation of an Amsterdam patrician’s home. It is moreover a miniature art collection. Its original owner, a high-class Amsterdam lady by the name of Petronella de la Court, decorated the ten compartments of the house as a kitchen, nursery, garden, salon, hall topped by an office, a provisions and maids’ room, children’s room, bedroom and a laundry room. In the kitchen we see a maid sitting by the fire, baking waffles. The nursery, temporarily furnished for mother and child, is entirely white. The nurse is seated with semi-bared breast, as she is also the one who breast-feeds the child. The garden, which would actually be located behind the house, is shown adjacent to the nursery. Above the nursery are two reception rooms: a salon to receive and entertain guests with card games, music and dance, and an art room especially for the gentlemen. Here we see the home owner’s art collection. The room is full of exotic miniature art pieces. Even the beautifully decorated cabinets are filled with miniature prints and medals. The master of the house is evidently a wealthy man. Dressed in a Japanese robe, a costly silk dressing gown, he is seated at his desk tending to business correspondence. Below, in the hall, we see the messenger boy, a servant and a child in a walking rack. The private chambers and working rooms are located on the top floor: the provisions room to the left with sleeping space for servants, flanked by the children’s and sewing room. The adjacent bedroom is lavishly furnished with a silk four-poster bed and silver toiletry items. In the top right corner we see the laundry room, where clothing and linen laundered out of doors is pressed, ironed and folded. The doll’s house and a large part of the interior was built to order, but Petronella also bought miniature furniture pieces, panelling and silver items directly from specialised traders. Everything has been made as lifelike as possible, even what is not visible, such as the dolls’ underclothing. Decorating a doll’s house took years to complete. The dating of some of the items indicates that Petronella devoted some twenty years to it. Following her death, the doll’s house was passed down the generations until it was gifted to the city of Utrecht in 1866.
Title
Poppenhuis
Artist
Dating
1670 - 1690
Material and technique
Object number
5000
Object type
Acquisition
schenking 1866
Dimensions
hoogte 208.5 cm
breedte 189 cm
diepte 79 cm
Inscriptions and markings
- geen
Physical description
De in de kast geplaatste kamers bestaan elk uit een vloer, wanden en een plafond; de wanden worden door bredere stijlen aan het oog onttrokken.
Documentation
- Cultuur in de Regio : Centraal Museum special 2023 : Collectie Centraal, Zes hoogtepunten uit de collectie, Lokale ontwerpers en biologische producten, Feitjes over het Centraal Museum, Centraal Museum, (Quest Historie, 6, 2022), p. 5, Saletkamer
Exhibitions
- Collectie Centraal, Centraal Museum
- De poppen pakken hun biezen, Centraal Museum
- De wereld van Utrecht. Topstukken uit vijf collecties, Centraal Museum
- Dit is het Centraal Museum! Topstukken uit de vijf collecties, Centraal Museum
- XXSmall. Poppenhuizen en meer in miniatuur., Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
- Utrechters dromen van Rome, Centraal Museum
- Kunstwerk van de maand oktober 1972, Centraal Museum
Persistent url
To refer to this object please use the following persistent URL: https://hdl.handle.net/21.12130/collect.4031518E-A66F-4792-BE6A-EFAFCC3D85E4
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