What Is the Oldest Dollhouse in the World?

When I first started looking into antique dollhouses, I thought I’d find one clear answer to the question: what is the oldest dollhouse in the world?

But it turns out it depends a bit on what you call a dollhouse.

Some of the earliest miniature homes were made thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, while the first “real” European dollhouses appeared much later as luxury display pieces for wealthy adults: not toys for children.

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole researching this, and these are some of the oldest and most interesting dollhouses I found, along with where they came from, who used them, and whether you can still visit them today.

1. Ancient Egyptian House Models (Around 2000 BC)

These are technically the oldest miniature homes ever discovered.

They were found in Egyptian tombs and included tiny rooms, furniture, people, animals, and scenes from everyday life.

They weren’t toys at all, but funerary miniatures made for wealthy Egyptians and nobles who believed these objects would serve them in the afterlife. Several examples can still be seen today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

2. The 1611 Nuremberg Dollhouse

This is often considered the oldest surviving “real” European dollhouse.

Unlike the earlier Egyptian miniatures, this one already looks surprisingly close to what we think of as a dollhouse today, with multiple rooms and carefully arranged interiors.

It was created in Nuremberg, Germany, during the Renaissance period and was owned by wealthy merchant families as a status object rather than a toy for children. You can still visit it today at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

3. The Stromer Dollhouse (1639)

The Stromer Dollhouse is one of the oldest surviving dollhouses with well-preserved images available online.

Built in Nuremberg, Germany in 1639, it reflects the homes of wealthy German patrician families during the 17th century.

It wasn’t designed for play, but rather as a luxury display piece filled with miniature furniture and domestic scenes that showed refinement and wealth. It can still be visited today at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, like for the previous one.

4. Petronella de la Court Dollhouse (1670–1690)

This Dutch cabinet dollhouse belonged to the wealthy collector Petronella de la Court during the Dutch Golden Age.

These dollhouses were essentially luxury miniature interiors created by rich women to display taste, wealth, and craftsmanship. The rooms are incredibly detailed and filled with tiny furniture and decorative objects modeled after real Dutch canal houses of the period. You can still see it today at the Centraal Museum.

5. Petronella Dunois Dollhouse (Around 1676)

The dollhouse of Petronella Dunois is another famous Dutch cabinet house from the late 1600s.

It contains fully furnished miniature rooms including kitchens, bedrooms, and storage spaces, all made with remarkable realism.

Like other Dutch dollhouses from this period, it was owned by a wealthy woman and functioned more as an art collection than a toy. Today, it is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

6. Petronella Oortman Dollhouse (1686–1710)

This is probably the most famous antique dollhouse in the world. Built for the wealthy Amsterdam collector Petronella Oortman during the Dutch Golden Age, it was designed as an elaborate cabinet house filled with miniature porcelain, silverware, textiles, and artwork.

Historical records suggest enormous sums of money were spent on it—possibly enough to buy a real canal house at the time. It can still be visited today at the Rijksmuseum.

7. The Bäumler Dollhouse (Late 1600s)

The Bäumler Dollhouse comes from Nuremberg and shows how dollhouses evolved into highly detailed miniature versions of everyday homes.

What makes this one interesting is that it combines living areas and workspaces, giving a glimpse into domestic life in late 17th-century Germany. Like many early dollhouses, it belonged to an upper-class family and was intended for display rather than play. It can still be seen today at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

8. Mon Plaisir Miniature City (Early 1700s)

This one is very different from the others because it’s not just a dollhouse but an entire miniature city.

Built for German nobility in the early 1700s, Mon Plaisir contains streets, shops, houses, and hundreds of tiny figures showing scenes from everyday life. It was more of an aristocratic curiosity cabinet than a toy. Parts of it can still be visited today at the Schlossmuseum Arnstadt.

9. Norwegian Dollhouse (1765)

By the mid-1700s, dollhouses slowly started becoming closer to children’s toys instead of purely luxury display objects. This Norwegian dollhouse from 1765 is simpler than the extravagant Dutch cabinet houses, but it shows how miniature homes had spread across Europe by this point. It is preserved today at the Norsk Folkemuseum.

10. Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House (1921–1924)

This is not the oldest dollhouse, but it’s probably the most famous. Built for Queen Mary in the 1920s, it was designed as the ultimate luxury miniature home and included working electricity, running water, elevators, and even tiny books written by real authors.

Unlike the earlier cabinet dollhouses, this one was specifically created as a royal showpiece. It can still be visited today at Windsor Castle.

My Final Conclusion

What surprised me most while researching these old dollhouses is how few of them were actually meant for children. Many of the earliest examples were luxury display pieces owned by wealthy families who used them to show status, taste, and craftsmanship.

These miniature homes offer a fascinating glimpse into how people lived hundreds—or even thousands—of years ago. The best part is that many of them can still be visited in museums today.

I hope you like this little history!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

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