Museum at Home > Doll’s Food

Small Stories and Miniature Worlds

The tiny plates of food shown here, were made by Miss Haynes of Uplyme for Katheryn Symondson, who later donated them to the museum. Miss Haynes is also thought to have made food for Queen Victoria’s Dolls House in the 1920’s.

Dolls Houses became popular in northern Europe in the 17th century, originally designed for adults, they were known as ‘cabinet houses’ and are closely associated with showcasing wealth and status.

In the 20th century Dolls Houses became more universal and much more associated with play. The many benefits of playing with a Dolls House and its props include; the development of fine-motor skills, classification and organising, creativity and imagination, social skills and emotional intelligence.

Miniature props are a key part of the miniature world and the accuracy of these tiny plates of food astounded and amaze the viewer. The world in miniature is a fascinating one, which continues to intrigue us today just search the internet today and you will see masses of tiny food for sale along with live shows with demonstrations on how to make your own.

For examples of Doll’s House’s visit the collection at the V&A museum.