The interior of the Cape House, 1670-1714

[摘要] This dissertation reconstructs, wherever possible, the interiorof the Cape house between 1670 and 1714 from the evidence preservedin surviving inventories and vendu rolls located in the Cape Archives.Chapter I examines those inventories which contribute somethingto our knowledge of the architecture of the period.Chapter II reconstructs certain features of doors, windows, fireplacesetc., from clues in the inventories and vendu rolls.Chapter III considers the way the different rooms in a cape housewere furnished, and relates this to the developments in interiororganisation and design that were taking place in seventeenth-centuryEurope in general and the Hague in particular.Chapter IV examines beds, window curtains, seat furniture, footstools,footwarmers and screens.Chapter V examines tables, carpets, chests, coffers, cupboards,cabinets, writing boxes, cellarets, mirrors, pictures, and wall racks.Chapter VI deals with lighting equipment, aids to cleanliness,basketware, skins, leatherware and cooperage.Chapter VII examines the various items devoted to eating anddrinking.Chapter VIII covers the domestic pursuits: smoking, reading, writing,sewing, knitting, spinning, music, indoor games, clocks, watches,scientific instruments, weapons and domestic pets.The Conclusion attempts to place the domestic world at the Capein the context of contemporary Dutch culture. Comparisons are drawnbetween the Cape and other Dutch societies, and particularly betweenthe Cape inventories and those of the Hague and New York, in order topinpoint those qualities and features which are unique to the Cape houseand the people who lived in it.

[发布机构] University of Pretoria