Fondation Tanagra - Art Mode Culture - The Lala House

>fr

1 2 3 4 5 6

The Lala House

an Authentic 19th-century
Family Doll's House

THE FIRST FLOOR

The Music Room

In the 19th-century every bourgeoise household was making a point to offer their children music lessons, language lessons and other cultural activities and we always refer to this room as “the music room” for a reason: it is flooded with musical instruments and references to music.

It is in French 19th-century style, with elaborate, rather feminine but cozier decoration. The room has a lovely, cream lacquered waincoting and dado rail. The wallpaper is original, a crosshatched pattern with intermittent flowered motif, probably dating from 1890-1900. The curtains are in harmony with the wallpaper and are made in fringed heavy brocade fabric hanging from a curtain rod with exquisite miniature curtain clips, an authentic doll's house detail which is original to the house. We later were lucky enough to find an old stock of similar ones in ex-Eastern Germany.

The lovely 18th-century pastiche-style fireplace of high proportion has its own firedogs, a little out of scale but charming in their naivety. We never thought about changing them, since they were there from the start (oops! I was going to say "when we moved in"!). As I mentioned before, scale differences in furniture, dolls and all the various household items are not only a historic specificity of old doll’s houses but also something that greatly contributes to their charm as early play things for children. The mantelpiece used to be decorated with a wood panel with the silhouette of a fawn playing flute (now put away), two Limoges midnight blue vases (which are now on the pedestals on the other side of the room), two candlesticks and a delicate porcelain braided basket. Now, it has two Oriental vases, I believe Tibetan, a bust of Mozart, the woven porcelain basket and two candelabras.

Another indication how we like to play around with furniture: the central ensemble of furniture used to be a matched set of red burgandy velvet, once again a pastiche of style which was hard to date with precision though likely end of the 19th-century. A main piece of furniture also was the Baroque secretary with bookshelf and teapot, all in cast bronze with a great patina but it is in the red salon on floor below now. Including its original Biedermeier-sytle chair, the room now sports the wooden ensemble including table, chairs, desk and glass-fronted book case filled with it's original books and some curiosities or precious objects called usually "objet de vertu" in French language.

The collection of various musical string intruments include luths, guitar and violins and there is even a child dressed in animal costume holding a violin, as well as a little bear playing violin. Also placed in this room are two lovely bisque statuettes holding musical instruments, one having a lyre, one a cello. Unfortunately, this room is not complete with an authentic doll's house piano to play Schubert, which would be perfect for this room, and we hope to be lucky enough to find the right piece one day. A rare English complete sterling silver tea set on a tray used to be on this table, but it has moved to a more appropriate decor in our antique late Georgian English doll's house. It was replaced by this lovely porcelain set in china with a gracious flower motif, complete with creamer and sugar bowl, most probably French. A "cup-a-tea", no matter what!

The Smoking Room

Next is the smoking room, a darker and more mysterious place with a masculine atmosphere. It has a stylish and luxurious 19th-century fabric covering the walls, in perfect condition, in the tones of prune with a floral and blazon (crest) device on it.

The room is garnished with intricate oak panelling and has a fabulous oak mantelpiece. The furniture is also rather masculine with its different chairs and sofas and displays some interesting pieces, such as a classic gothic-style chair,a beautiful oak piedestal with a fake marble top, a side table also with a fake marble top on which is placed a lovely young girl’s bust in bisque with porcelain base, most probably French, which is now in the Red Salon below. She has been replaced by the statuette of Saint George which is next to the bust of King George V. On the floor is a nice Renaissance Revival needlepoint carpet.

On the other side of the window, near a red-lacquered secretary, is a tin bank safe. I always say that I have to think about placing my will inside it (which will have to be either very brief or reduced into microfilm format!). Other pieces of furniture include a Biedermeier-style table with precious hard wood top on which are displayed some photo albums including one of Paris dated 1900, a card game and an ashtray. A miniature cigar box (with real cigars!) is waiting for amateurs on a velvet-covered stool, and a precious blown-glass liquor set, well-know to collectors, perfect for a doll-size sip of brandy is place on a mahogany-style table, with a white marble top. Gosh! What a doll has to do to get a proper drink in this home? Above the red canapé is a very minute and delicate miniature oil painting of the Swiss city Lucern that we found a few years ago in an antique shop in the Swiss countryside, quite appropriate for this room.

Above the mantelpiece we can see two bisque heads and a photographed double portrait of Tsar Nicholas II and his spouse Tsarine Alexandra Fedeorovna, and two small figurines of grenadiers soldiers from the Napoleon army. The irony of it all! - never mind chronology- peace in the doll's house, please! To be noticed too, the nice beaded and gilt chandelier, by Marklin or Bing. This is the only room which had no curtains for decades (along with the pantry), though for a reason: to admire the beautiful wood paneling. Recently though, a pair of nice antique velvet ribbon curtains were placed, a final touch to enhance the comfortable feeling of this lovely room.

A rare photo album from the Second Empire.

This house and especially this room has what Vivienne Greene, English doll's house history pioneer, called "Gloomth". Gloomth is the hybrid word of "gloom" and "warmth", meaning the atmosphere evokes a cozy gloom.

1 2 3 4 5 6