FREEZE FRAME OF A BYGONE ERA

For some decades now old doll houses have fascinated not only tourists in toy museums but also historians, cultural and social change researchers, architects, scenographers and collectors. Old miniature interiors hold such extraordinary appeal and charm, no one can walk past indifferently. For some, the interest comes in the technical aspect – how are these miniature doll houses made, what was used to make them and how was the electricity connected to these tiny lamps? Other people are drawn to the historical vibe of the interior, the period costumes, meticulously recreating everyday details -  remarkable documents of a bygone era.  Many people are fascinated by the extraordinary artistry and craftsmanship in the work, the  thoughtfulness and patience gone into creating these dainty worlds. Regardless of the reasons of the interest, one thing is for sure, the houses take us back in time – to different ways of thinking, different fashions, lifestyles, housekeeping and leisure activities.  They ooze charm, which is hard to resist.   

 

THE DOLL – MANKIND’S OLDEST TOY

The oldest-known toy, seen already in prehistoric times, is considered the doll -  a figure which originally fulfilled a magical and ceremonial function and with time, was taken over by the child, for some becoming a favourite toy, a most cherished object, often kept, with nostalgia, into adulthood.

 

Dolls were most probably accompanied, since ancient times, by miniature households and their traces – primitive dolls, tiny tools and vessels, are found today by archaeologists in ancient settlements and children’s graves, where it was custom to hold their favourite toys. In ancient China (from fifth BC) and ancient Egypt (from third BC) art in miniature was made with different materials and to a very high standard. We can therefore assume that since they were making miniature tools, arms and chariots they were almost certainly also making miniature houses, model houses, replicas of interiors. 

 

DOLL’S HOUSES – ILLUSTRIOUS LUXURY

One of the first written documents existing about doll’s houses can be traced back to 1558 when the Prince of Bavaria, Albrecht V, ordered the extremely expensive present of a miniature house for his daughter.  In those days it was difficult to think of it as a ‘child’s toy’ since it resembled more an elaborate display cabinet with its precise miniature pieces inside. Unfortunately, that house was lost in a fire in 1674.

 

The enormous popularity of doll’s houses, especially in Germany, England, Holland and Italy, occurred during the XVII-XIX centuries. The houses made in that period were often faithfully copied, mini models of the buildings of that period and their miniature interiors illustrated exactly the room layout and the furnishings.

 

The furnishings and amenities of the houses - from cellars to attics, were made to look as much as possible like their prototypes, using the same plastic and materials, by miniaturist-craftsmen often associated with guilds and specialised in their craft. And so miniaturist-carpenters made tiny, wooden furniture, bell-founders made miniature tin tableware and hardware, potters made tiny ceramics, and the painters painted miniature pictures. The doll’s houses were inhabited by every imaginable kind of doll - families, dolls in service, all sorts and their clothes, hats and shoes fitted their character and were made by a specialist; tailors, cobblers, hatters. It was characteristic to find that  the dolls ranking higher in the social scale would be made of the most expensive materials and to the highest precision - for  example, the man and lady of the house would have faces of porcelain or wax, their bodies sewn with the most delicate goatskin.  Lower ranking characters might have bodies made and finished in clay or ceramic and a servant deserved no more than a wooden body, and sometimes only straw and cloth.  Of course it was also possible in elegantly fitted out houses to find the bare minimum - this applied mainly to the manor houses of magnates and aristocrats.

 

THE POPULARISATION OF DOLL’S HOUSES

Alongside technical development in XIX century, and above all, thanks to the introduction of the colour printer (chromolithograph) and the possibility of producing wooden pieces serially, doll’s houses started appearing and toys were more easily available, simultaneously fulfilling an educational function. The doll’s houses still faithfully kept their archetypal form. 

 

Thanks to the meticulous care taken of all the elements and smallest details at the time, the doll’s houses today are a source of information about how and where people lived, the environments they lived in and which fashions they favoured.  Starting from the enormous houses with lots of rooms, to smaller houses and finally to little shops, classrooms and kitchens, all these toys are amazing, three-dimensional documentations of a bygone era.

 

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THE COLLECTION

In the exhibition there are doll’s houses from all over the world, grouped thematically – Sleep and Rest, School and Learning, Hygiene and Cleanliness, Sewing and Decorating, Shops and Stalls, Medicine and Care, Kitchen and Larder.  These exhibits tell us a story from the past and show us their perennial beauty.  

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The collection items are from Aneta Popiel-Machnicka’s private collection unless otherwise stated on the display description and renovated and restored by her and her children to their former brilliance. Several mats, napkins, wall-hangings, lamps and some felted pieces were made by contemporary miniaturists - Katarzyna Strzelecka, Zofia Lesińska, Katarzyna Kusiek, Ania Kurowiak, Iwona Majak, Ludmiła Karpiuk and Marzena Konsowicz

 

 

 

Main exhibition work: Aneta Popiel-Machnicka

Co-operation:  Bożena Donnerstag, Zofia Jusiak

Translation: Jessica Mulligan

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