Astolat Dollhouse Castle (also known as Astolat Castle or Dollhouse Castle) is a museum-quality

dollhouse A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America ...

, which was appraised as "the most valuable dollhouse in the world," at $8.5 million in 2015. Its great value is attributable to its hand-made intricate , tall, 29 room structure, and its extensive collection of high-quality miniatures including extravagant furnishings, with working fireplaces, stained glass panels, and 10,000 handcrafted miniature pieces that include original works of art, gold chandeliers, and the smallest antique Bible in the world. Many of its miniatures, including some made of gold, sterling silver, are antique and one of a kind. Few other museum quality dollhouses meet such criteria. The Astolat Dollhouse Castle was once on display at the Tee Ridder division of the

Nassau County Museum of Art The Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) is located east of New York City on the former Frick "Clayton" Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History and description

Inspired by

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

's poetry about the Lady of Astolat, Astolat Dollhouse Castle was created between 1974 and 1987 primarily by master miniaturist Elaine Diehl with support and assistance from artisans throughout the world. In addition to its height, it has 29 rooms, hallways, corridors, sitting areas, and windows. The Colleen Moore fairy Castle Dollhouse and the Astolat Dollhouse Castle were designed with fixed contiguous exterior walls to create a three-dimensional viewing effect. Astolat was built over a thirteen-year period. The exterior took a year to sculpt to the final finish. The interiors and adjoining areas were each constructed to the highest standards of that time. When Astolat was first installed, the museum's curator stated "each room is decorated with furniture, tables, chairs, artwork and lighting made by artisans from around the world, and the materials are unique and expensive." It weighs approximately . The interior consists of 29 rooms and adjacent areas that contain approximately 10,000 separate interior pieces. Astolat Dollhouse Castle was initially displayed in Diehl's museum shop in

Sedona, Arizona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

, until her retirement in 1996. It was a popular tourist attraction which drew people from around the world. On 10 May 1982, dollhouse creator

Colleen Moore Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped po ...

took a trip to view the Astolat Dollhouse and met with Diehl. Unique parquet floors, framed mirrors, tapestries, gold chandeliers, oil paintings, and fireplaces lead up to the top floor housing the "wizard’s tower" outfitted with telescopes and zodiacal signs. The furnishings include seven periods and styles, including Spanish, Oriental, Tudor, 18th-century English, and Victorian. The Dollhouse Castle's namesake was inspired by the fantasy castle "Astolat" in

’s poem ''

Lady of Shalott "The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson and one of his best-known works. Inspired by the 13th-century Italian short prose text '' Donna di Scalotta'', the poem tells the tragic story of Elain ...

''. Astolat Castle has a copper roof and structural wood walls that are finished on the exterior with

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

and then sculpted to a rough faux stone finish. Some of these exterior wall panels are fixed to create a three-dimensional effect when viewers peer into the castle. Other walls can be opened or removed for group viewing. The structure was built to a 25.4 mm to 304.8 mm scale (one inch to one foot) (1:12) scale.

Ownership

The Astolat Dollhouse Castle was acquired by collector L. Freeman in 1996 and moved to the Nassau County Museum of Art. Freeman is an avid collector of dollhouses and since her acquisition of the Astolat Dollhouse Castle she has continually upgraded its interiors with additional one-of-a-kind antique miniatures, tiny antique furniture, and paintings in addition to those that already existed within the structure. There are reportedly now about 30,000 miniatures pieces in the Astolat Dollhouse Castle collection, but only about 10,000 are displayed at any one time. The inventory is rotated. The Astolat Dollhouse Castle was on rare public display at the Time-Warner Center at Columbus Circle, New York City from 12 November to 8 December 2015. All proceeds from this exhibition benefited charities for children, including St Jude's Children's Hospital,

Orphans International Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is a charitable organization created to house and educate orphans and abandoned children. In response to the crisis facing orphaned children around the world, former investment bank employee Jim Luce founded ...

, and others.

Layout and floor plan

Consisting of seven levels, stairways, and hallways, Astolat Dollhouse Castle was created for 360 degree viewing. As with the

Colleen Moore dollhouse Colleen is an Irish language name and is of Irish origin and a generic term for women or girls, from the Irish '' cailín'' 'girl/woman', the diminutive of '' caile'' 'woman, countrywoman'. Although it originates in the Irish language, Colleen ...

certain exterior walls are fixed to create a 3-D viewing experience. The basement level consists of the Knights Of Columbus room, wine cellar, kitchens, and the armory. The main floor contains the entrance foyer, main stairway, and butler's closet. Next level up contains the formal living room, dining room, and music room and its audience balcony. The fourth level contains the private library containing

duelling pistol A duelling pistol is a type of pistol that was manufactured in matching pairs to be used in a duel, when duels were customary. Duelling pistols are often single-shot flintlock or percussion black-powder pistols which fire a lead ball. Not all fin ...

s, a library of

miniature books A miniature book is a very small book. Standards for what may be termed a miniature rather than just a small book have changed through time. Today, most collectors consider a book to be miniature only if it is 3 inches or smaller in height, wid ...

, fireplace, miniature

daguerreotypes Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

, and the oil painting display area. Fifth level contains the sleeping quarters. Sixth floor contains the grand ballroom, musician's alcove, bar area and sitting rooms. Wizards's tower is on the top level and contains hand painted zodiac signs, telescope, observatory and astronomical depictions.

Interior decoration

The interior spaces include miniature fittings and furniture most of which are antique, hand-crafted, and one-of-a kind. Some are even artifacts from

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

. Other furnishings, and ancillary art includes sculptures, original oil paintings,

portrait miniatures A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...

, hand sewn tapestries, carved wood moldings, chandeliers, sconces, framed mirrors, and accessories.Sybil, Harp. Treasures in Miniature: Elaine Diehl's 'Astolat'. Waukesha: Kalmbach Publishing Co, 1993 These include miniature inlaid marble bathrooms, parquet floors, gold chandeliers, hand etched wood panels, and pieces made of gold. Most of the interior furnishings and artwork are original and were purchased at auctions from private collectors, or commissioned from known miniaturists and artisans. Such artists include Eric Pearson, George Becker, Warren Dick, Laurel Coulon, Mary McGrath, among others. The lighting features fully illuminate all areas of Astolat and separate day and night-time lighting systems automatically adjust based on the time of day.

Critical reception

"The Castle is worth so much because of the structure itself," said Paula Gilhooley, the Museum's curator. Furthermore, "Astolat is one of the finest miniature structures in the world exhibiting a rare combination of sculpture, art, engineering and detail that sets it apart from anything in existence to date." Astolat "is a massive feat of construction and when you see it, it will leave you absolutely speechless". In 2006, a photo presentation of the Astolat Dollhouse Castle was released courtesy of the Nassau County Museum of Art, an updated version released in 2009 showed some of the upgraded interior furnishings and acquisitions, and a video presentation that previewed a charity tour of the dollhouse.

Other notable dollhouses

Other notable dollhouses include

Titania's Palace Titania's Palace is a miniature castle (dollhouse) that was hand-built in Ireland by James Hicks & Sons, Irish Cabinet Makers, who were commissioned by Sir Nevile Wilkinson from 1907 to 1922. Wilkinson's daughter Guendolen claimed to have seen a fa ...

, which is on display in Denmark, Tara's Palace, which is on display in Ireland at the

Tara's Palace Museum of Childhood Powerscourt Estate ( ga, Eastát Chúirt an Phaoraigh), located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying . The house, originally a 13th-century castle ...

in Powerscourt and the

Stettheimer dollhouse The Stettheimer Dollhouse is a two-story, twelve-room dollhouse, created by Carrie Walter Stettheimer (1869-1944) over the course of two decades, from 1916 to 1935. It contains miniature art made for the dollhouse by artists like Marcel Duchamp, Al ...

in New York City which is primarily known for its original miniature artwork.

Queen Mary's Dolls' House Queen Mary's Dolls' House is a dollhouse built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V. It was designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, with contributions from many notable artists and craftsmen of the ...

in England includes contributions from many notable artists and craftsmen of the 1920s.

References

External links

{{Commons category
Official WebsiteNassau County Museum of ArtQueen Mary's DollhouseFairy Castle ExhibitPhotos of the Astolat Dollhouse Castle
*http://www.studio-online.com/so/?p=802 Dollhouses