Appeal for UK buyer to snap up old dolls house – for £65,000

A RARE and “captivating” dolls’ house from the early 18th century is at risk of being exported unless a UK buyer can be found to match the £65,000 price tag.

Standing more than 6ft 8in high, the “baby house” – as they were originally known – probably dates from between 1720 and 1740 and is largely made of mahogany, oak and softwood with glazed windows.

It is one of just 30 pre-1760 English miniature houses known to have survived, and was passed down through the family of William Edward Forster, 19th century Liberal MP and chief secretary for Ireland.

Arts minister Michael Ellis has put a temporary export bar on the house to provide an opportunity for a buyer to come forward to keep it in the UK.

Baby houses came to renewed attention following Jesse Burton’s best-selling 2014 novel inspired by Petronella Oortman’s famed house at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, and was made into a BBC series.

They came to England from the Netherlands and Germany in the early 18th century, and were more a tool for training the daughters of wealthy families in household management than playthings.

Furniture and porcelain were supplied by toy merchants, and girls were encouraged to learn sewing skills by making dolls’ clothes. The houses were expensive until the early 19th century when designs were simplified.

A buyer has until May 1 to make an offer at the asking price of £65,000, plus £13,000 VAT, and the export bar could be extended to August 1 if a serious intention to raise funds is raised.