Petronella Oortman’s Doll’s House

At the end of the seventeenth century, in the vibrant city of Amsterdam, the wealthy Petronella Oortman commissioned a doll’s house. Crafted by the most skilled artisans from the Dutch Republic and beyond, this was no children’s toy, but a small-scale masterpiece. Oortman devoted 25 years to its completion, spending an astonishing 20,000 to 30,000 guilders – a sum that could have bought her a grand canal house. It is, in every detail, her ideal version of reality: a perfect household in miniature.

Now, more than three centuries later, digital photography brings the world of the doll’s house back to life. This book takes the reader on a tour of every room – including those normally hidden from view – offering a fresh perspective on this remarkable creation.