Rijksmuseum 17th Century Dollhouses~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS

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In the 17th century, women in Holland created and displayed miniature dollhouses, in much the same way that men of their era, collected and displayed curiosity cabinets. (You can click the images to enlarge them)
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The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has three of these dollhouses, two are pictured here, one from 1676 and another from 1686.
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These dollhouses were not meant for children and could cost as much as an actual canal house at the time.
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One dollhouse creator Petronella Oortman, commissioned artists of her day to create a perfectly to scale house with marble floors, sculpted ceilings, hand painted wall frescoes, and doors that opened on a garden with a working fountain. She commissioned miniature porcelain from China.

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There is something about these miniature worlds that fascinate us to this day, whether it be scale model trains and towns, or intricate dollhouses.

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Many humans like to be creators and masters of their own perfect little worlds, absent the stress and strife of real life. They are miniature dream worlds where everything is beautiful and peaceful.

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These old dollhouses are time capsules, that allow us to travel back in time and imagine what life was like in 1686 living in Holland, on the canals, in this house.

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Creating a house like this must be like Zen meditation, the creator lost in the bliss of their own imagination.
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I would love to make one, but can well imagine the mounting costs, and how much I might get into it.
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But it is free to look at these amazing houses, that others have built before us, and it sends our imaginations soaring across time, back to them.
Cheers to you and may your New Year be happy and peaceful~

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314 thoughts on “Rijksmuseum 17th Century Dollhouses~”

  2. Timothy Price

    Amazing work. I have done a lot of woodworking and furniture building most of my life, but I do not have the patience to do work like they did to make these dollhouses. Wonderful photos showing the great work.

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    1. Yes, if I hadn’t of said anything, one might imagine these were real homes. Happiest New Year my great friend. Looking forward to another blogging year with you!

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  6. Yes, I can imagine getting lost in creating such miniature worlds. Beautiful photos…you’ve captured the time and love that is obvious in the intricacy of these houses. Happy New Year, Cindy!

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    1. I looked online at some model houses and started ticking up how much it would cost to make one’s house of dreams and realized it could cost as much as a real house, and yes I would love getting lost in it too!

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  7. What detail. It would take hours if not days to take it all in. I’m glad they hadn’t invented plastic back then — imagine all the beauty that never would have created.

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    1. Can you imagine what family held on to these through the generations for 300+ years. I can see some relative saying, “Oh that is mom’s obnoxious dollhouse she spent so much time on. Donate it to charity.” But nope, these families kept and cared for them for over 300 hundred years, which ends up being a gift to all of us! Happy New Year Colleen.

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      1. There are certainly some lessons to be learned from that doll house. I wonder how many things under trees this holiday will still be around to be cherished 300 years from now? Happy New Year Cindy.

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  9. Very beautiful in their construction and so intricate. The detail is incredible.
    Happy New Year to you, Cindy. May you and your camera continue to capture the world so splendidly.x

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  11. Aren’t they wonderful and I imagine kept many a mind from going mad. Now 350 years later maybe we can allow ourself the courage to be our own Master Cretor and live our heart and souls desire… It is 2016… It is TIME. Love Barbara

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    1. Yes, it is. Interesting isn’t it. We can see the old dollhouses as an effect of oppression, the only way a woman with little power over her life, could feel in control of her world. The tradition has remained however as women and men still do this miniature art today. Like everything involving humans, it’s complicated which makes it fascinating. Thanks for thinking and sharing and yes, it is long past time!

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    1. Exactly my thought. Women back in the 1600’s may have built these houses to feel control, something they were not allowed to have in their lives. I would build one now to escape the daily horror of a chaotic and cruel world. The trick is how to get the arty, creative and peaceful people to take over the world. If you have an idea on how to accomplish this, let me know!
      Happiest New Year to you dear Linda. I love sharing your life.

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      3. Definitely true. These houses cost money to make. I can’t even imagine how much Queen Victoria’s cost to make. More simple ones are still so beautiful. Victoria Canada has a collection of dollhouses in a dollhouse museum that I toured and they were wonderful. I like simple adobe doll houses, garden cottage doll houses, fairy cottages. I would actually prefer to live in a cottage than a castle. They don’t have to be super expensive to be fascinating.

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    1. Yes, I saw Queen Victoria’s this past year. Incredible! The crowds around it made it impossible to photograph unfortunately. Her’s was a bit more modern and completely intact which made it especially fascinating and so elaborate. These Dutch ones were missing gardens and such, but they are incredibly old, so we are just lucky they survived~

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  17. As a little girl, I could see being very interested in having a miniature doll house. They used to have a store that displayed them in the window. They do capture a moment in time in the era. Now I’m just content to look at them.
    Happy New Year Cindy.
    Leslie

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    1. I think the reason children like miniatures so much is because they feel small and powerless. Miniature trains and dollhouses give them an opportunity to be in control and feel powerful. I think the motivation for adults is to recapture that imaginary feeling they had as a child, and after living in the real world for awhile, adults have a need for escape. I find it all fascinating.

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    1. Yes! When I looked at the photos for the first time, I realized with Oortman’s perfectly to scale house, that I couldn’t tell they weren’t real houses. That is pretty amazing work for a hobby in 1686!

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    1. It would be fun to build one with a child, and it wouldn’t need to be so perfect. They have houses pre-built and you could furnish it together. I bet you two would make a wonderful house. Happy & Healthy New Year to you and your loved ones~

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    1. You are escpecially good at giving credit where credit is due Graham. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. I look very much forward to another year with you!

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  34. Wow, fabulous houses. The silver fireplace tools, wicker baskets, I can’t imagine how they were made in such fine detail. I’ve heard the the Rijksmuseum is wonderful – lucky you to visit there!

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    1. The Rijksmuseum is fabulous. Who can top the Dutch Masters? I marveled at the wicker and the silver too. Especially the wicker. How did they find the reeds to weave? How did they make it to scale so perfectly. They look so real like you could pluck them off the wall and put your bread in them. Simply amazing.

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  37. A wonderful post to begin the New Year for it captures the hope and longing of humanity to create certainty in a complex, mercurial world that demands our active participation. Thank you, Cindy for making my 2015 amazing. Looking forward to the journey ahead.

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    1. Oh I so love the way your first sentence caught everything and more that I was trying to express. But, then, this is you Rebecca. You are a woman who says very much with few words. It is a very unusual gift. We are starting on our fourth year together my friend and I have loved every minute of it. Happiest New Year to you and your family~ <3

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    1. Oh, don’t you long for that Russel, to absent oneself from all the unecessary noise and conflict? I know you do, as do I, which is why we sail away in our imaginations. I am priveleged to have you as a friend Russel and look forward to what we both will do to sail above the strife in 2016. Be well my friend.

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    1. Oh my God, if you do then I might too. I have been looking for years now at the kits, but to do it right will be sooooo pricey!! I can’t imagine how much fun it would be to watch you build your house in posts. Still don’t let me influence you. But DO let me know if you take the plunge. It would be like being a kid again. I spent days at a time making doll houses as a child….. <3

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    1. I never cease to be amazed traveling to other countries and seeing the incredible art created by all sorts of people in every walk of life many hundreds of years ago. I am afraid as cultures we are losing this focus on the uplifting aspects of art in everyday life. So glad it resonates with you as I know it did with Ms. Oortman. I wonder what she would think if she knew how famous her creation is?

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  42. As a teen, I loved miniature worlds, belonged to the local Miniature Guild, and studied doll house magazines for ideas for building the furnishings for my own 2 houses. One of which was 4 feet wide and 3 feet high. The pantry shown above made me gasp, because still, among my balsa wood stash (35 years later, mind you) I have those pantry doors, waiting for me to figure out how to hinge them to the walls of a doll house I donated to a club in another city 15 years ago. 🙂 I still have the wooden barrels, too.

    I believe I saw this house in 1983 when we visited the Netherlands. We also when to Windsor, just so I could see the Queen Mary Dollhouse.

    Now I have my own house to decorate, and I’m down to one smallish Victorian dollhouse, its rooms empty, the box of furniture and accessories stashed on the roof. Some day, I’ll have to redecorate.

    Thanks for the memories this post incited!

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    1. Oh my you have no idea how much I loved this comment and you! What an awesome teen you were. Did you keep photos of your houses. They, and you, sound incredible. I know exactly what you mean about having you own house to decorate and being consumed with that. But when, you really finish your own house, when there is nothing left to do, as it is with me, that is when those boxes of furniture and accessories will start to call your name. I saw Queen Mary’s Dollhouse in spring of 2015. It was so crowded, it was hard to get a decent look. How incredible was that???? Just amazing!
      So happy to stir good memories and even happier you shared them~

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  44. I have always been fascinated by the detail of some miniature doll houses. Occasionally, I see them with little quilts in them, and as a quilter, this post reminded me of my own fascination with miniature quilts and the patience it would take to organize and put together such small pieces of fabric. I thoroughly enjoyed these photos! Best to you and yours in 2016, Cindy! 🙂

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    1. I just don’t get how things like the wicker baskets or a quilt could be done? With a jewelers loupe and really tiny reeds in the case of the baskets, and tiny-tiny needles and microfilament thread with the quilt. It’s like micro-surgery. Truly amazing. All the best to you in 2016 Deborah~

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  47. Those are really amazing Cindy. Peggy has an adult dollhouse that she put quite a lot of work into. (The cost of the small furniture blows me away.) Her house is lots of fun, but it doesn’t look anything like the ones you are showing. –Curt

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    1. Oh I want to see Peggy’s house. Might you cajole her to do another post? It would be wonderful and I have lots of questions. Other bloggers would love it too. I have seen the cost of the furniture which is why I haven’t done it, but obviously, I am still thinking about it! 😉

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      1. Maybe Cindy. She smiled. Peggy recently took it apart and stored the furniture. It was one of those “I need the space for something else.” She had great fun when she was building and furnishing the house several years ago, however. I’ll let you know if I talk her into it. 🙂 –Curt

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    1. Well that is a crime Bette that can be remedied! Do a google search for doll house kits and rest your creative brain upon this idea for a moment or two. Thankfully, it is never to late to make a dollhouse. Happy New Year Bette! We will be starting our fourth year together next year and I have loved every moment! <3

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  50. Beautiful and intricate design seen in the miniature sized houses. A far different kind of doll houses we have in the U.S. conformed to our life style and surroundings. 🙂 My father made doll houses for my daughter and I still have it, ready to give to my granddaughter when they find room for it. It is a very special and sentimental one, still.

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    1. I love all forms of dollhouses. The pioneer ones, the fairy and gnome houses, the adobe haciendas, the old Victorians. They are all wonderful. Every country seems to have their own unique versions. I also love dioramas, retablos, train villages, anything miniature. How wonderful that you have your own family heirloom ready to be passed on. That is special. Happiest New Year Joyce! <3

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