COLLECTION

Collection

The National Tin Figure Museum has tin figures, tin figures and once more tin figures. Upward of 200.000 in all shapes and sizes. Besides tin figures our museum has an extra-ordinary collection old card board and paper figures and big collections of composition figures, aluminium - and plastic figures.

There are medieval pilgrim badges, old 18the century tin figures and 19the century tin soldiers. Some are marching on antique marching machines or on wheels, all day long, to and fro. We also have figures with which the German emperor played. There are antique figures, painted in merciless domestic toil and figures which are painted by an artists who became 'world master' in international competitions.

 

The oldest object in the museum is a 5.000 years old cuneiform cylinder seal, from Sumer , an area that coincides with the present southern part of Iraq .
A casting-mould for a tin figure and such an old Sumerian cylinder seal are made pretty much in the same way.

One of our youngest objects is a figure of a regional costume made by Mr. Andriessen from Doetinchem. He records the history of Dutch regional costumes in tin figures. Every day he records regional costumes and makes new costume figures of them, which can be seen in the National Tin Figures Museum when ready.

Since its entire renewal, in 2006, the National Tin Figure Museum is a modern, attractive and hospitable museum. The museum building is an approved monument with a rich history, situated on a historic site on the banks of the Overijsselse Vecht. In these environs tin figures tell, together with theatrical settings and art, fascinating stories about our history.

Ground level

On ground level we show new exhibitions on various subjects every year. For these we borrow remarkable collections from foreign museums and collectors most of the time. Topical view of our exhibitions>>

First floor

On the first floor we imitate a village square where a tin smith makes tin figures in a handicraft way and you will find there an antique toy shop where the antique tin figures of the museum are exhibited.

In an artistic way a 40 m2 big wall painting of Matthijs Röling imaginates how tin figures are telling history.

In an adjacent room on the First floor in a fairy-like setting of Hans Christian Andersen. Here we exhibit tin figures as children's toys.

Second floor

	The second floor of the museum is the domain of the socio-historical tin figure and of artistic miniature painting. Besides a survey of the World history with diorama's of Dr. W.G.L. Wieringa, a number of historical stories are exhibited in a more detailed way.
	One of these stories is the Battle of Ane. On St. Panthaleonday 1227 nearby Ommen, in Ane, a huge battle took place between the bishop of Utrecht and his vassal the viscount of Coevorden. The imposing and superior knight-army of the bishop of Utrecht was smashing defeated by the viscount and a pack of Drentse peasants and country women. On the basis of the traditional manuscript from 1232 four dioramas are build which show what happened in those years.
	Another storey is the Battle of Waterloo. In a huge diorama upward of 10.000 tin figures, set with figures of prince William and his adjutant, a son et lumière tells what happened on June 18th, 1815. The English commander Wellington should have sighed, because of the enormous number of killed that day: "The next worse thing to a battle lost is a battle won." Until 1940 Waterloo-day was celebrated every year in The Netherlands with feasts and a day off.
	From Dutch history you see all the sovereigns of the House of Orange in the museum as tin figures. The Royal Family is closely connected with the coming into existing of The Netherlands as a sovereign country. The symbol of our parliamentary democracy is third Tuesday of September when the Queen rides in the Golden-Coach in a triumphal procession to open Parliament. In the National Tin Figure Museum the Golden-Coach goes for a ride every day, even on your demand!
	Regional costumes gave identity to local communities from 16th till 19th century. In The Netherlands upward of 240 different regional costumes existed. A number of good fifty 10 cm tall, tin figures show in a clear way and extremely detailed, the richness of this part of our national history.
	The culminating point of detail we find on the figures painted by miniature painters like Mike Taylor.
	One of our historic collection is those of the apes. These figures were made by Johann Gottfried Hilpert from Nürnberg in about 1760. Hilpert was one of the first tin smiths who started to produce tin figures as children's-toys.