Pequeños Mundos: An Exhibition Exploring Dollhouses, Miniatures, and Societal Roles at the Museum of Costume

This exhibition showcases a part of the Museum of Costume's toy collection, focusing on dollhouses and miniatures. It goes beyond aesthetic appreciation to explore how these toys transmit societal ideas, including collective principles, social relationships, and the perpetuation of gender roles through play.

As is customary during the Christmas holidays, the Museum of Costume organizes an exhibition aimed at its younger visitors, showcasing a selection from its extensive toy collection. This year's focus is on dollhouses and miniatures, beloved by generations of children and adults alike. The exhibition delves deeper than the visual charm and intricate detail of these toys, aiming to highlight the underlying ideas and aspects they represent. These objects serve as instruments through which children learn the principles of the society in which they live and will eventually develop their adult lives. They experience social relationships, economic structures, and the scientific and technical advancements of their contemporary society on a small scale, playing with reduced versions of the adult world. Fundamentally, however, these toys transmit, assimilate, and perpetuate gender roles. Children experience their role as active economic agents playing with trains, stations, and cars, while girls learn the domestic roles assigned to them by society through play kitchens and dollhouses. Some toys, like shops and grocery stores, are presented as mixed-use, where boys and girls share their experiences. The objects displayed are not solely collector's items; they are real children's playthings that children themselves modify and alter to suit their needs, often incorporating elements not originally part of the toy. These are pieces manufactured by adults and transformed by children, offering a perspective beyond pure aesthetic contemplation.