Helsinki Card - Sight of the Month
Dream Homes – Dollhouses from the 19th and 20th c.
The dollhouses on display till November 6, 2011 at the National Museum of Finland provide a cross-section of the world of dollhouses and the changes having taken place in society during 150 years.
The exhibition Dream Homes – from the collection of the National Museum of Finland – displays 13 dollhouses representing approximately 150 years of the history of dollhouses, from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The exhibits reflect the world of dollhouses and show how society has changed during that period.
The exhibition includes a few miniature worlds specific to boys' play. Rarities are a few silver objects for dollhouses made in the 17th and 18th centuries in Holland and Sweden.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, dollhouses reflected the domestic environments of the affluent middle class or the upper classes in a society in which stratification was distinct and emphasized. For children on their way to adulthood, dollhouses echoed the world of grown-ups. They helped girls practise – either consciously or implicitly – the running of a household.
Modern Dream Homes
The exhibition shows also modern dream homes in four miniature apartment buildings made last autumn. The young people, adults and senior citizens that participated in this project considered the aspects and features of their own dream homes by decorating miniature homes according to their wishes. These homes give a contemporary view to the exhibition. The Dream Homes project was realized in association with the Helsinki Diakonia College, the Helsinki Deaconess Institute and the Töölö Service Centre for the elderly.
Building and decorating dollhouses is a fascinating pastime even today. Do-it-yourself interior decoration is a challenge for one's skills, and assembling a personal miniature world offers endless opportunities for the imagination.
National Museum of Finland
Mannerheimintie 34,
tel +358 9 4050 9544
open: Tue 11–20, Wed–Sun 11–18
entrance fee: €7 (adults), children and Helsinki Card holders free
Text: Pirjo Kauppinen, Helsinki Expert
Photo: National Board of Antiquities / Marko Hämäläinen
In the picture the Frieman dollhouse from Raahe, 1860’s. In the contemporary manner the dollhouse was built in a cabinet with glass doors.
The National Board of Antiquities Helsinki Card Helsinki Expert
