The show-room, or “holy of holies,” as the Dutch woman was pleased to call it, was furnished according to the means or class of the owner. Among the higher classes a party was often given in it. In such homes the floor was covered with expensive Turkish rugs, and the walls hung with tapestries, silk damask or gold leather. These were further adorned with Venetian mirrors and paintings worth their weight in gold. The chairs were of rare exotic or foreign woods supplied with embroidered cushions, or seats of Utrecht velvet, and the other furniture consisted of beautifully painted or inlaid or mosaic tables, beautifully carved cupboards, and rare cabinets inlaid with silver, ivory or tortoiseshell, and filled with the finest egg-shell porcelain. Porcelains and curios adorned the high carved chimney.
In older aristocratic homes the “show-room” was less lavishly furnished, but none the less the pride of the mistress. The floor was covered with mats, the walls with painted linen, or handsome paintings; but in rare porcelain it was the equal of any alderman’s or mayor’s wife.
As time wore on, the walnut cabinet supplanted the carved or oak cupboard, the vitrine took the place of the china-cabinet and the console and glass appeared between the windows, and finally we arrive at the period when the small bookcase with glass or mirror doors appears and chairs covered with figured rep.
The kitchen usually contained a bedstead with feather bed, pillows and curtains, a looking-glass in a black frame, a cupboard, chairs, a table, andirons, innumerable brooms and brushes, flint and steel for striking a light, shovels, tongs, gridirons, dripping-pans, whetting-boards for knives, tubs, butter firkins (earthenware, pewter, brass and tin), knives, forks, spoons, stills, churns, hanging boards, can-boards, pots, pails, skimmers, funnels, salt-boxes, candle-boxes, frying-pans, beakers, candlesticks, dripping-pans, skewers, stewing-pans with covers, copper kettles, chafing-dishes, hour-glasses, lamps, hammers, tankards, tin pans to roast apples, pot-hangers, dishes to boil fish on, mortars and pestles, waffle-irons, bellows, kettles, a birdcage, saucepans, platters, cans, pepper mills, tin ware to bake sugar cakes, marzipan pans, racks to hang clothes on, wicker baskets, hampers, tubs, glass knockers to beat clothes, smoothing irons, tin watering pots to wet clothes, rainwater casks, etc., etc.
In order to gain an idea of a lady’s bedroom of the period, let us visit that of the wealthy Mrs. Lidia van der Dussen, the daughter of Jacob van Beveren, alderman of Dordrecht and bailiff and dike-count of the Country of Strijen. The house is one of those with a high peaked gable; it has oblong round-headed windows with small panes set in lead, and a façade decorated with carvings and arms, while the name of the house is inscribed in marble at the top. Green and red damask curtains at the windows give the exterior an air of cheerfulness and comfort. We enter. To the right of the large vestibule, the floor of which is laid in marble tiles of blue and white, a wide marble staircase leads to a wide marble hallway. The floor of this is covered with the finest Spanish matting, and on each side of the hall are doors opening into various rooms. These heavy doors are of oak, and are elaborately carved or painted with cherubs, shepherds and shepherdesses, etc. Opening one of these doors at the rear—the quietest part of the house—we find ourselves in a large room, the stone floor of which is covered with rich rugs, while tiles ornamented with bright pictorial designs, or mottoes, cover the walls. The dark and heavy serge curtains that hang at the windows prevent us from distinguishing the furniture of the room very clearly; but we gradually make out the articles one by one. We note the splendid array of vases and beakers that adorn the wide mantelpiece, and also the top of the china cabinet of sacredaan wood, and the massive and richly carved, or deeply panelled, linen wardrobe, or kas. A handsome walnut bedstead stands in one corner of the room. The four twisted pillars support a canopy, from which fall heavy serge curtains, that conceal a wealth of fine linen and Flemish lace. The four corners of the canopy are surmounted by the favourite ornament of the period, the “pomme” consisting of a bunch of plumes,—in this instance of green, red and black. The walls, although encased in tiles, are hung with pictures in ebony frames, in addition to which there is a large Venetian mirror set in a rich crystal frame. A drop-leaf table stands in the centre of the room, surrounded by several chairs with high backs and low seats. The woodwork of these chairs, shining like glass from the devoted polishing it receives, is, like the china-cabinet already mentioned, of sacredaan. We also note in this room a beautifully made wicker cot, or basket, for the baby.
In early days this article of furniture was of large dimensions, and the nurse sat beside it with a large screen at the side to keep away draughts. Some of these cots were shaped like cradles without the rockers, and were supplied with a shelf or wing on the side as a protection from the heat of the peat fire. At a later period of this century, the cradle rested on two rounded rockers, and had a rounded hood or canopy. It was made of plum-tree wood, or of wicker lined with yellow satin and trimmed with costly lace. Royalty was rocked in cradles of gold or silver; that of Charles V, however, shown in the Brussels Museum, is of wood, carved in the Gothic style and painted. A primitive form of Dutch cradle was suspended from iron rings on two posts of wood, and a later kind, recommended by ‘s Gravesande, had a spring on one side and a weight on the other, so that when once put in motion it would continue rocking for a long time.
Near the cradle stood the “fire” or “napkin basket,” also made of wicker and covered with serge, or with richer material if the home was one of wealth. In the inventory of Vrouwe Reepmaker (1670), for example, “white and satin basket covers” occur. The “fire” or “napkin basket” contained everything pertaining to the baby’s outfit; and mention is made in the inventories of “a neat,” “a simple,” or “a costly fire basket,” according to the circumstances of the owner. The “fire basket” with its outfit was given as a present to the young mother by the husband’s mother or one of the aunts. In a celebrated farce of the period, Old Brechtje says: “Van mijn peetje een wonderlicke schoone corf ecregen, die voor al myn kyeren eef edient. Ze eef hem van lapwerck en fraeykens van croonsaey en passementen emaeckt.” (“I got from my aunt a wonderfully beautiful basket, which has served for all my children. She made it of patchwork, and covered it nicely with serge and embroidery.”)
On a table, an open buffet, or dressoir, or a glass cabinet, all the baby’s silver was arrayed, such as the herb-box, the pap-pot, the cinnamon bowl with cover and spoon, and the large clothes tray—all inherited gifts from godfathers and godmothers of many generations. Each piece is variously inscribed, sometimes dating as far back as the sixteenth century, or earlier. This large silver tray holds the costly clothing that will be used at the christening, such as the cambric and lace robes and the red velvet robe lined with red silk, the satin tufted blanket and other articles of baby dress. Nor must the large pincushion be forgotten, on which the baby’s name will be printed with pins.
The bride’s basket was just as important as the baby’s basket. This was also made of wicker, and, according to the means of the parents, lined with rich or simple material. It was adorned with flowers, and contained, not the bride’s dresses, but the wedding-shawl and ornaments belonging to it, the jewels and gloves that the bride was to wear at the wedding, and also the gifts of the bridegroom.
The “bride’s crown” and “bride’s throne” received a great deal of attention from the loving hands that were busy with the preparations for the festivities. The house was turned into a perfect bower on the occasion of a wedding. Garlands of palms, flowers and evergreens were interwoven, and hung upon the walls with the green boughs that were variously twined and twisted. Gold and silver favours, love-knots, marriage-bells and other devices and letters forming mottoes and riddles, were displayed among the greenery and flowers, and the name or initials of the bride and groom were to be seen on every side. Magnificent Japanese vases filled with flowers, particularly the brilliant tulip, were placed in every available space. Handsome mirrors were removed from other rooms and hung among the garlands and flowers to add more light and beauty to the rooms. Not unfrequently the outside of the house received its share of decoration, when the street doors were covered with greenery and garlands were hung from all the windows.