The most expensive and valuable dollhouse in the world is the Astolat Dollhouse Castle. It was officially appraised for $8.5 million because of its magnificent structure.
Constructed in the 1980s by the miniature artist Elaine Diehl from Colorado, this luxurious little castle includes 29 rooms decorated with amazing miniatures. It has fireplaces that work, the finest furnishings, stained glass panels and over 9, 000 handcrafted miniatures that include chandeliers made of gold, original art pieces, mini books which are rare, and the smallest Bible in the world. The dollhouse weighs 800 pounds and is 9 foot tall.
For the construction, many experts and miniature artists helped Diehl to make this masterpiece. She was inspired by the poetry of Alfred Tennyson about the Lady of the Lake. In this poem, there is a fantasy castle which is called “Astolat”. The dollhouse has over seven levels with hallways and stairways, and it contains various rooms.
There is a library, a kitchen, a unique music room, a living room, a dining room, sleeping quarters, a bar, a wine cellar with different kinds of real liquor in little bottles, an armory, and a grand ballroom. The Wizard’s tower is at the top and it contains a telescope, painted zodiac signs, astronomical depictions, and an observatory.
The most amazing thing about this dollhouse is that it has a lighting system that lights up all the rooms inside. It has wooden walls which can be opened or removed so that visitors can see the interior and as well, it has a copper roof. In 1996, the miniature collector Lois Freeman purchased the house and has now moved it to the Nassau County Museum of Art in New York.
When Lois purchased the dollhouse, she often made upgrades of the interior adding various antique miniatures. Today, there are 30, 000 miniature pieces in the castle’s collection but only 10, 000 are displayed at the museum. This dollhouse, together with the famous Colleen Moore Fairy Castle Dollhouse, were designed in such a way that they can be viewed in 3D. In 1982, Colleen Moore went to Arizona to see it, where at that time, the dollhouse was displayed in Diehl’s Museum Shop in Sedona.
The exterior of the Astolat Castle took a year to be made. The interior of this luxurious little house includes seven periods and styles including the Victorian style, 18th century England, Spanish style, Oriental, and Tudor.
Because of all these details and the precise construction and the choice of styles, it is the most expensive dollhouse, costing even more than a fully furnished apartment in New York City.