Miniature Astolat Castle is the most expensive dollhouse in the world. Valued at $8.5 million in 2015, the 2.7-meter-tall toy castle weighs 360 kg. Inside, the entire area (29 rooms) is filled with tiny furniture and works of art - about 10 thousand items made by hand. Some are custom-made from silver, gold and other expensive materials, others are purchased at auctions and from private collectors.
Astolat Castle was built relatively recently, in 1974–1987. The project was led by Elaine Diehl, inviting miniaturists from all over the world. The main source of inspiration was Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Sorceress of Shallot", based on the legend from the Arthurian cycle. Astolat (aka Shallot) is the city where Elaine lived, the heroine of the poem, in love with the knight Lancelot.
The walls of the castle are made of wood, covered with a copper roof. The floors are covered with parquet, golden chandeliers hang on the ceilings, the paintings are painted in oil - everything is like in a real palace. In total, there are seven levels, on which there are living rooms, a kitchen, an arsenal, a cellar, a pantry, a library and other rooms. There is even a wizard's tower, you can recognize it by the telescope and the signs of the zodiac. After studying the interiors in detail, several styles of decoration can be distinguished: Tudor, Victorian, Spanish and others.
Dollhouse lover Lois Freeman bought the castle in 1996. She moved the miniature to the Nassau County Museum of Art in New York. Freeman periodically updated the situation: there were new custom-made interior items. Over time, their number increased to 30 thousand, however, as before, 10 thousand exhibits are exhibited in the castle at the same time.
