Dolls’ house of Petronella Dunois c. 1676

This extraordinary dolls’ house was commissioned by Petronella Dunois sometime in the 17th century in Amsterdam. Look closely, and you will see not just a house, but a microcosm, reflecting the domestic ideals and social structures of its time. Dominating the scene are the dolls meticulously placed within each room. Note the gestures and postures, they mirror the rituals of daily life. These figures, frozen in time, echo the Commedia dell'arte characters, embodying archetypes of human behavior. Consider, how these domestic settings, with their carefully arranged furniture and utensils, recall the vanitas paintings of the era, reminding us of the transience of earthly possessions. The dolls’ house, in its totality, functions as a memory theater. The rooms are the stages, the objects the props, and the dolls the actors, all coming together to reconstruct and preserve a world on the verge of disappearing. The urge to recreate the world in miniature, to contain and control it, reflects a deeper human impulse to grapple with mortality and find order in chaos. This is not merely a house; it is a vessel of cultural memory, a testament to the enduring power of symbols to shape and reflect our understanding of the world.