From November 18, 2023 you can view a unique exhibition in the Hague Historical Museum: ‘Small, smaller, big‘. This masterpiece is full of surprising and special miniatures that will make you dream away. The big crowd puller is The Big Doll’s House.
The Great Dollhouse takes you back in time, to The Hague more than a hundred years ago. Beautiful details have been incorporated into this miniature villa. The house was equipped with all modern conveniences: hot and cold running water, central heating, electricity and even a vacuum cleaner for the maid.
Unique art collection
Lady Lita de Ranitz had the Large Dollhouse built in The Hague in 1910. In addition to the clear image of the time, there is another striking detail to discover about the dollhouse. Inside the rooms you will find a remarkable collection of miniature art by artists such as Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël, Floris Arntzenius, Hendrik Akkeringa and other well-known artists. The lady traveled throughout Europe to obtain the best miniature works of art.
Own postal address
The dollhouse grew into a landmark in The Hague: in 1911, Queen Mother Emma signed the miniature guestbook and the Great Dollhouse was subsequently visited by a select group, from the famous writer Louis Couperus to artists and ministers. In its popular early years, the dollhouse even had its own postal address for dollhouse correspondence!
Unmarried and yet independent
Lady Lita de Ranitz built up a collection of twenty dollhouses, a large number of miniatures, and historical dolls that you can now view in the Hague Historical Museum. In this collection you can clearly see what was characteristic of life around 1910. Lita put the lives of herself and her maid at the center of her miniatures. So she had no husband and no children, which was striking at that time. Yet the exhibition shows that you could also live independently as an unmarried, wealthy woman in the 19th century.
Dollhouse panorama
The dollhouse panorama is fun for children and adults. In this interactive space you travel through time together. Enter the world of Lita and her maid, from The Hague of the past to the current city. This way the dollhouse really comes to life!
You can order tickets for this beautiful exhibition ‘Small, smaller, big’ online via website of the Hague Historical Museum.