Tiny Life: Petronella Ortman's Dollhouse

In the walls of the State Museum in Amsterdam, among the antique items, there is a dollhouse of an unknown master, created at the turn of the XVII and XVIII centuries. Since it belonged to Petronella Ortman for a long time, who was the wife of a wealthy merchant, her name was assigned to the house. Later, the toy house passed to Gendrina Brandt and her relatives, until at the beginning of the XIX century it was bought by the Dutch state. The exhibit got into the museum, where it is kept to this day, in 1875.

The cabin in the form of a locker is made of oak, lined with turtle shell and decorated with tin elements. Various items were made for the interior, the number of which reaches 7 thousand. Judging by the way the rooms are furnished, the house is an imitation of the housing of a rich family who lived at the end of the XVII century. For the design of tiny rooms, such an amount of money was allocated, which at that time was enough to buy a whole house for a family.

For the kitchen located on the ground floor, the owners bought porcelain items from China and Japan. Most of these products were purchased from the Dutch East India Company, which represented goods for decorating doll houses. In addition to porcelain, there are glassware, there is a children's sideboard nearby. The most expensive room was the room on the second floor – this is the salon where guests were usually received. Landscapes are depicted on the walls, chairs and other furniture are placed throughout the room. The attic space is intended for servants. You can see clotheslines, baskets, irons and other utensils. Even the closet was not left empty – there are small children's clothes inside.