Women kept dollhouses as a form of collection and art cabinet, and as a miniature representation of an idealised domestic world. Curiosities, luxury goods and professional expertise were all to be found in abundance in Amsterdam, and Oortman spent a fortune fitting out her dollhouse. Basket makers, sewers, glassblowers and woodcarvers spent months replicating countless household objects at miniature scale using authentic materials of the highest quality. They included everything from paintings and painted decorations to silver utensils, furniture, glass, earthenware, porcelain and textile. This precious art cabinet was itself decorated with tortoiseshell and tin. All these qualities made Oortman’s dollhouse unique, and famous in her own time.
Getting started with the collection: