Middle class parlour from the Gründerzeit era circa 1890

I found this lovely antique parlour suite in the Sonneberg area of Germany when I was there last spring.  It is one example of the myriad of beautiful toys and dolls that were made in that area for more than three centuries.

There was a doll festival in the Sonneberg area last May and for four days the most amazing items were offered for sale.

Dealers from all over Europe set up sales tables with the most incredible treasures. It was doll house heaven!

This lovely 9-piece parlour has enamel decorations on several of the pieces. Unfortunately the four larger chairs are missing theirs. Still, it is a beautiful and rare set.

I found a picture of a very similar set of furniture in a German dollhouse book and they were referred to as "a middle class parlour from the Grunderziet era circa 1890"

The term Gründerzeitstil refers to a predominant architectural style from 1850 until 1914. In historical context different decades are often also called Gründerzeit. For this reason, the term Gründerzeit is used to refer to several periods; for example 1850-1873, 1871–1890, sometimes 1850–1914 for the architecture, or even just the years 1871–1873.

I bought the wonderful china coffee set from the same dealer. I fell in love with it. It is very delicate and so beautiful.

All of the pieces have blue beautiful flowers, gold edging, and the plates are monogrammed.


The furniture is a large 1/12th scale. I will need a large room to display it to the best effect. I haven't found the right setting yet, but I hope to be able to show you it in place soon.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy the pictures of it on my living room floor.

BTW, the carpet under the table in the first picture is a fancy tapestry matt I found in the gift shop of Princess Sissi's palace in Vienna. I think it suits the set.

Bye for now.

Hugs,
Susan