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Dolls’ house of Petronella Oortman
anonymous, c. 1686 - c. 1710, furniture, BK-NM-1010
The exterior of this dolls house is a work of art in its own right, with its mother-of-pearl and pewter veneer. The owners’ initials - Petronella Oortman and her husband Johannes Brandt, a cloth merchant in Amsterdam - are inlaid on both sides. Remarkably, all the domestic furnishings were made…
On display in room 2.20
Cupboard
Herman Doomer, c. 1635 - c. 1645, furniture, BK-1975-81
Among the possessions left by cabinetmaker Herman Doomer of Amsterdam was a costly ‘large ebony cupboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl’. It was probably this piece of furniture, which is veneered entirely with ebony and decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay. With its diagonally protruding corners and…
On display in room 2.8
Blue Macaw
Meissener Porzellan Manufaktur, 1731, BK-17496
German scientists discovered the ingredients of Chinese porcelain in the 18th century. Elector August the Strong was such a fan of this hard, translucent white material that he filled his Japanese Palace in Dresden with porcelain objects. In the 1730s, he had a series of large birds and animals…
Self-portrait
Johan Gregor van der Schardt, c. 1573 - c. 1580, bust, BK-2000-17
On display in room 2.3
Roemer with a poem to Constantijn…
anonymous, 1619, BK-1983-15
Anna Roemers Visscher engraved one of her own poems in a wineglass as a gift for Constantijn Huygens. The verse contains a complaint and an exhortation: her pen has dried up, her brain has rusted. She asks Huygens to fetch her some water from the Helicon – where the Muses live – so her ink will flow…
On display in room 2.8
Desk
Abraham Roentgen, c. 1758 - c. 1760, BK-16676
This desk has numerous secret compartments and drawers and even includes a fold-out prie-dieu. It was made for Johann Philipp von Walderdorff, archbishop and elector of Trier, and is decorated at the top with his portrait and heraldic arms. The desk is the most expensive showpiece ever made by…
On display in room 1.9
Cabinet of a Militia Company
anonymous, c. 1520 - c. 1530, furniture, BK-KOG-656
On display in room 0.4
Book chest of Hugo de Groot
anonymous, c. 1600 - c. 1615, NG-KOG-1208
Traditionally, it was in this case that Hugo de Groot escaped from Loevestein Castle in 1621. He had been serving a life sentence there since 1619. The internationally renowned jurist De Groot (Grotius) had been arrested in 1618 as a political opponent of Prince Maurice. After his escape, De Groot…
On display in room 2.5
Still Life with a Gilt Cup
Willem Claesz Heda, 1635, painting, SK-A-4830
In forty years, Willem Heda only ever painted still lifes. His paintings differ from the still lifes of his contemporaries: the colours are gentler, cooler and more harmonious. The bright yellow lemon peel is the only colour accent. In this work, Heda shows his skill in rendering different…
On display in Gallery of Honour
The Well-stocked Kitchen, with…
Joachim Bueckelaer, 1566, painting, SK-A-1451
It is not the profusion of vegetables, fruit, meat, poultry and kitchenware displayed here by these housemaids that forms the main theme of this painting. It is Jesus visiting Mary and Martha, shown almost as an aside in the distance. The contrast between foreground and background contains the moral…
On display in room 0.6