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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
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
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
Cabinet of a Militia Company
anonymous, c. 1520 - c. 1530, furniture, BK-KOG-656
On display in room 0.4
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
Layette Cupboard
anonymous, c. 1660 - c. 1670, furniture, BK-1985-10
Flower, fruit and shell patterns are carved into the walnut veneer of this cupboard. It was designed to hold nappies (diapers) and babies’ clothes. Old inventories of lying-in rooms mention these cupboards. The Dutch term is: ‘luiermandskast’.
On display in room 2.19
Stadtholder’s chair
Gerrit Hutte, 1747, BK-NM-1315
Willem IV sat on this chair when he presided over the high court in The Hague. The cabinetmaker who made it, Hutte, and Van Dijck, who carved it, chose an extreme Rococo style for this ceremonial chair. The back is crowned with the arms of Zeeland, Holland and West Friesland and the embroidered…
On display in room 1.2
Model of the William Rex
Adriaen de Vriend, Adriaen Davidsen, Cornelis Moerman, 1698, ship model, NG-MC-651
Model of a 74-gun Dutch battleship. It was made in Vlissingen (Flushing) and displayed in the boardroom of the Zeeland navy in Middelburg. The decorative stern sports the arms of Zeeland. In fact no such ship actually existed. The name William Rex refers to William III of Orange, the Dutch…
On display in room 2.15
Armchair for Til Brugman
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, c. 1919, BK-2010-1
No Dutch piece of furniture has been acclaimed as much as this armchair, designed around 1918 by Gerrit Rietveld. In its red and blue colours - first applied around 1924 - the chair became an international design icon. In fact Rietveld’s small furniture workshop in Utrecht supplied the chair in…
On display in room 3.2
Diorama of a Du, Dance Celebration…
Gerrit Schouten, 1830, NG-2005-24
The scene in the dance tent is a ‘du’, a role-play event with music and dancing, held once every year on the plantations. Both players and audience were slaves. The main character was the ‘Afrankeri’, the narrator, left. The man in the red suit on the right is playing the king. Europeans in Suriname…
On display in room 1.17