The household effects of the House of Orange 1567-1795

Edited by S.W.A. Drossaers and Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer

The publication of transcripts of the inventories of the possessions of the House of Orange, stored in archives in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The inventories were usually drawn up for the settlement of inheritances and contain lists of paintings, tapestries, furniture, examples of handicrafts, jewels and other jewellery that were present in the various residences of the House of Orange. These inventories do not include books.

The inventories are of particular importance for art historians but can also make a contribution to research into the culture of living in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The structure of the three volumes is chronological. The first volume contains an extensive introduction, the last a glossary, bibliography, a register of objects in all the volumes, an index of museums and private collections, an index of the names of people and places in all the volumes and a family tree. The transcriptions of the inventories are introduced with information about the building in which the possessions were found and a copy of the inventory that has been transcribed. The text contains annotations for the objects and historical persons.