Petronella Ortman's dollhouse is a symbol of sophistication and luxury

Among the artifacts of the State Museum in Amsterdam, you can see a doll's house that witnessed the life of a wealthy family at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. This work of art known as Petronella Ortmann's House was created between about 1686 and 1710.

Petronella Ortman, the wife of an influential merchant, was the owner of this amazing house, which eventually became a museum exhibit in Amsterdam. However, at first it fell into the hands of the family of Gendrina Brandt, and later, at the beginning of the 19th century, it was bought by the state. Since 1875, this unique exhibit has been under the care of the museum, which preserves it in an unchanged form.

The locker-shaped house is made of oak, decorated with tortoise shell and decorated with delicate tin elements. However, the real sophistication lies in its interior, which has more than 7 thousand objects, each of which is made in a scale of 1:9. This is a kind of miniature world that reflects the luxury and wealth of the family that existed at the end of the 17th century.

To furnish her house, Petronella Ortman paid enough money to buy an expensive house on one of the canals.

The house has three floors. On the first floor there are kitchens, one for use and one for display, as well as a sewing room and a library. The kitchen is a place where you can see porcelain products purchased from China and Japan. The place of honor is occupied by glassware, and even a majestic sideboard.

The second floor is the most important, as it houses the most expensive room in the house, the salon, which was intended exclusively for receiving guests. Its walls are decorated with paintings, and the ceiling depicts the sky in clouds.

A servant's loft allows you to find clotheslines, baskets and other household items that reflect the life of the era. Even the closet is filled with small children's clothes.

The chic "outfit" of the rest areas is decorated with natural wood furniture and satin. The widespread use of the same fabric was characteristic of the end of the 17th century. The bed is a "pavilion bed", so called because of the canopy that hangs above it from the ceiling.

Petronela Ortman's dollhouse remains a unique historical artifact. This is a kind of window that allows you to see and feel the aesthetics of past eras.

Source: rijksmuseum.nl