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Week 9 [23.05 - 29.05] Dollhouses--ideal homes

When I was a child, I was plaing with dolls and their house most of the time. I spent hours in their magic, imaginary life. I created different story for each doll. It was amazing and very creative kind of play.



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World of childhood can come back to us when we visit Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. There are vintage dollhouses that weren't destined for children.

In the second half of the seventeenth century, this type of "toys" were made for adult women who belonged to the highest social classes representing the rich bourgeoisie and the court regent.

Petronelli Oortman and Petronella Dunois are owners of Dollhouses located in the Rijksmuseum. They are he wives of wealthy merchants of Amsterdam. Mrs. Dunois house was made in the years 1675 - 1700 and Mrs. Oortman in the years 1686 - 1710.


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Dollhouses were made of oak  and decorated with ornaments of tin or inlaid walnut.
In both „houses" are similar rooms: attics, laundry, children's bedrooms, sleeping state, living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms and cellars. These houses included also dolls dressed in fashionable clothes.

They were made for show and were filled with precious objects made of porcelain, silver, glass or ivory as normal houses.

Dollhouses can be also include the so-called cabinets group,I mean richly decorated sideboard. There are put various kinds of exhibits and artifacts on the beautiful shelves.

The owners dollhouses also put all sorts of miniature furniture. In this way they were creating a ideal image of the household.




Equipment of dollhouses was very valuable, so owners usually kept them closed behind glass doors and sometimes they cover a curtain.

The end dollhouse result was the corporate work result of architect, painter, carpenter, sculptor, jeweler and other masters. The preserved dollhouses provide us an invaluable source of information about equipment and furnishings of rich houses of the Dutch at the end of the seventeenth century.

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It is really interesting for us because we can see how lived people earlier.

In summary I think that dollhouses are the kind of mirror that shows who we are and how we live or Who would we really want to be. It is a world in miniature.

How do you remember dollhouses from childhood?
Do you like play with it?
Have you ever heard that dollhouses were made also for adults?

Vouge magazine 

Comments

It is quite hard subject for men ^^ I was not a fan of dollhouses rather preferred cars, tanks and so on. But referring to your article I have never heard about dollhouses for adults. It is interesting as piece of art in museum, but little bit creepy for real life. Is seems to me little bit strange that adult people have such interest. It does not seems to be healthy. The role of the dolls’ house is to be a tool for teaching girls about their feminine roles and duties. Dolls houses also evoke strong feelings in people who own or interact with them. They have a powerful emotional dimension, even for those who stand in museums and wonder at their miniature magic. I am not sure whether I would like to give my kid such toy.
Marcin Konarski said…
Obviously I never had dolls house neither was interested in them. The dolls’ house is important as an emotional artefact because it miniaturises aspects of the childhood home through its decoration. In my opinion it creates little bit fake picture of life and can harm children psychics. Such girls can image that life looks like that. Of course giving opportunity of playing around with teaching how to clean, cook or take care of household is good for children, but too imaginary world is not so good. I would prefer to teach children normally in home with parents how to deal with cooking, cleaning and so on.
Pat said…
As a child, I've had a dollhouse - it wasn't a Victorian hand-made house though, just a regular house for Barbies and other dolls. It was a two-storey building, but my mom has build the third floor for me - an attic - and it was the coolest part of the house; it had tiny wooden furniture and knitted carpets, my mom even sew some clothes for my dolls. It wasn't nearly as detailed as the houses from your presentation, but as a child I was thrilled to bits by it.
These houses are SO beautiful! Thank you for sharing these with us. I have never had a dollhouse, just a couple of dolls and I did quite a good job imagining that I had one;) I was mostly designing clothes for my dolls, I also used to play with lego and play-doh and I drew a lot.

I would like to address one thing: in the past everything that was a luxury item was made with great care and attention to details. A person could tell that the object they owned was an effect of hours of hard work. I am talking about things like dollhouses, music boxes, caskets and all other toys and items made for the wealthy. However, the items that were not of first need for the poor people are also worth mentioning. They were handmade from wood or fabrics and filled with other values than what the money you pay the craftsman is worth. Nowadays everything we buy is a plastic crap straight from a conveyor, manufactured somewhere abroad in hundreds of thousands exact copies. It is hard to find a genuinely good toy, made by someone who cares about more than just money.
Last weekend I visited Targ Rzeczy Ładnych, a bi-annual event held in Plac Unii shopping centre. It gathers many craftsmen and artists from different areas of design. Everything that I saw that day was, well, genuine, handcrafted, with designs thoroughly thought over. One could buy many different things there - posters, ceramics, plants, books, bedclothes, lamps, soaps and things designed for kids. It was like a breath of fresh air taken after having spent too much time underwater, I was amazed by all the beauty that filled this event. I recommend it to everybody - get ready for the Autumn edition!

Here is a link for a youtube channel devoted to posting videos of mini food and other mini items that would be perfect for one of these dollhouses:)
Unknown said…
You’ve touched upon a very interesting subject there, the treatment of dollhouses and toys in general in the previous centuries. Actually, up to the nineteenth century there really wasn’t such a thing as toys for children. Well, of course, children were given something to play with but all the intricate and beautiful playthings that we can admire in the museums were not destined for the little ones. The thing is that children were treated completely different and since the mortality rates were very high, people didn’t invest so much in them. Moreover, they were treated as ‘little adults’; they weren’t expected to play or have fun. They were expected to be and in the lower classes they’d be swaddled and hanged over a wall so that they wouldn’t run about and disturb the parents (not joking here) pretty much until they were old enough to help with the work. In the nineteenth century people started treating children more like we do nowadays and the upper classes would buy them toys and such, but dollhouses remained more of a sign of prestige and something to be admired than something to be played with.
I actually never thought about dollhouses being representative of a culture in that way. I suppose it's the same how historians study paintings to see how people dressed in some period and stuff like that.

I've never really played with dollhouses and haven't heard much about dollhouses for adults. People like collecting different things and that's perfectly normal.
Unknown said…
How do you remember dollhouses from childhood?

I remember girls playing with them. I didn't play with it so theres not really much more I can say about that.

Have you ever heard that dollhouses were made also for adults?

Yeah, I've heard about that. Some are really fancy and expensive.
Unknown said…
Well, I naver had dolls. Those presented in post seems quite nice. Still would not like to play with them, as they are probably very expensive.
Unknown said…
Yes, I agree with you. This isn't good subject for men. I hope you like part of the article about a dollhouse for adults.
Unknown said…
Yes, it is another way and I think interesting way besides some paintings to show us how was. In this case we have 3D presentations of old things. We can move for a second to another world.
Unknown said…
I think that the world of the child is generally a little larger than life. Many cartoons and video shows children a false picture of life. In my opinion children world has its rules
Unknown said…
I think that dollhouses symbolize children's carefree world nowadays. Early dollhouses are very helpful to us to see in 3D how people lived. But yes, I agree with you. It's strange that adults "play" with dollhouse.
However, I am willing to buy for my child dollhouse in the future .
Unknown said…
Really? I was designing clothes for my dolls too. It was very creative kind of play. I'm totally in love with this type of spending free time. Such activities for children stimulate and shape their imagination.

I saw Targ Rzeczy Ładnych a year ago. There are amazing handmade things. Unfortunately I missed this event this year, so poor me... I hope that I won't make the same mistake in Autumn.
Unknown said…
I find the idea of bringing, what appears to be just for kids, very interesting. Especially when creators put enormous work to bring such things into existence. When I read the article I automatically recalled seeing one artist creating extremely detailed dolls. As much as I could't find it anywhere, I found another artist with rather similar style:
http://www.boredpanda.com/realistic-doll-faces-polymer-clay-michael-zajkov/
Unknown said…
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Unknown said…
had a plastic folding and portable dollhouse, but it wasn't my favorite toy. These dollhouses about which you write are really beautiful but for me it's not something like mirror of past times These dollhouses about which you write are really beautiful but this topic don't impress me so much.
Unknown said…
What's a pretty subject of presentation! :) I bring back for a few minutes to my childhood. When I was a little girl I played with dolls of course but it's a quite difference between discribed by you china dolls and more modern - Barbie dolls. China dolls still are perfect gift for adults because of prestige and luxury which we associate with this type of dolls. From my childhood I remember mainly Barbie dolls. Interesting is the evlolution of this brand because recently Barbie create a personalized dolls for everyone regardless of age, race and gender. I encourage you to watch a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPETP7-UfuI :) In my opinion it's a good symbolic form which fight against racist and intolerance. What do you think about?
Unknown said…
I remember having dolls (Barbie among them) and one dollhouse when I was a kid, but I don't recall being very fond of them. I always prefered animals. I have had tons of animal and dinosaur figurines. They might still be stashed somewhere in my parents' house. I have to check that next time I'm there.

Ans yes, I have heard about dollhouses for adults. Actually, one of my friends recently bought one, or rather a room that

is a part of a bigger set. From the photos she sent it looked amazing. It is not something I would like to own, but definitely a treat for the eyes.
I really enjoyed playing with dollhouse. I liked creating imaginary stories for every doll I had. They are great memories :)
My dollhouse, of course, wasn't so fancy and antique like these in article. They are amazing and really beautiful. True piece of art.
And I never thought about dollhouses in category "mirrors of who we are". It's very interesting point of view.
Unknown said…
I remember I had dollhouse when I was a child, but I've never played with it so much. It's an interesting idea to make this dollhouses for adults...but I don't see a poin of it.
Unknown said…
I remember having two doll's houses when I was a child. One was a store bought fully functional house with some really tiny dolls and furniture. It was kind of cute and I enjoyed playing with it with my friend, but the one I liked better was a doll's house my grandfather made me. I remember it had four rooms and was covered in the same wallpaper as my grandparents' living room at the time. It could barely fit barbie furniture that I had but it was still the best doll's house I've played with. I only really played with dolls while I was visiting my grandparents but still this brings back good memories.
Michał Pycek said…
I have never had a doll house :D
Both my sisters have had a doll house when they were little girls, I remember they would be jealous of each other, because they wanted to be the only ones using it.
Not sure what else I can say in relation to this topic... :)
I've never heard of a dollhouse for adults. When I was little I had a house for Barbie and it was my favorite toy. Dollhouse was not large but in my imagination it was a palace. Children have great imagination, and this toy for girls is an excellent material to use it. Once it was the symbol of wealth .. today it can be sentiment. Dollhouses for children today is also changing. For example http://lowcydizajnu.pl/domki-dla-lalek-miniio/. They are already less plastic .. become a nice part of nterior design, but are primarily be used by children.
Unknown said…
I’ve never had a dollhouse for obvious reason - I’m a man. But my sister had one, and she loved to play with it. I’ve never heard about dollhouses made for adults. I like the concept, because it’s extraordinary and it’s a piece of art.
Unknown said…
Old dollhouses for adults can be our 3D sources od knowledge about old times but now I agree with you there is no point.
Unknown said…
I know that this topic is not for men but dollhouses for adults got my attention and I decided to write about it.
OlaScislewska said…
When we were children we loved to play adults now when we became adults we miss that carefree, slaphappy time. Kind of nosens but thats the way how we live and proof that something inaccessible is the most appealing. I wonder if kids still use dolls and other regular toys or computer games like "The Sims" ousted them. By the way The Sims is same as dollhouse but unfortunately You dont have to use so much of imagination as plaing dolls or other material toys.
Unknown said…
I've never heard about dollhouses for adults, it sounds very interesting and weird at the same time :)
I had a small dollhouse when I was a child and I remember how much I liked to play it. But I really wanted a bigger one, so I made it by myself. It was a big two story house with big rooms and a personal stable with two horses. It was very funny and interesting to build it and I can recommend instead of buying a dollhouse for a kid just build it by yourself involving a child to this process.
Unknown said…
When I was a child I had a doll house! And I loved it :) I always was trying to keep it as similar as possible to reality - children room was a mess, the rest was super clean :D
When I was older i switched to the sims, which sounds to be kind of similar version of doll house :D
I had no idea,that people used to have so fancy doll houses, that were some kind of decoration of their own houses, that's very interesting :) It must have been quite expensive I guess :P
Moode said…
I never had a doll house because I always preferred to play with cars. I really liked your article, I did not know that this museum exists. I did not know also that people make such a beautiful doll houses. They are a reflection of the soul, and often the most secret dreams of man, made with great precision by a few specialists. It is a passion very unusual and admirable. It's a bit like assembling model airplanes and ships Unfortunately I do not have the dexterity.
Unknown said…
Thank you for posting this interesting article! I would love to have been able to visit this museum and if I was aware of it a few years ago when my daughter was an exchange student in England, I would have had her go there and take lots of pictures. My daughter loved Amsterdam, my husband's family originating from there. I am currently remodeling my childhood dollhouse. The porch railings were falling off after sitting in my parent's attic. It was made by me and my father, so it has nice memories. I plan to make more after this, using a kit to start and create my own after my skills increase. My husband is even helping me! We are both artistic and I love miniatures! I plan to keep them in my home, to light up and enjoy. It would be too delicate to be a toy, but I will probably make one for future grandchildren that is much more sturdy.

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