The Private Library of Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707)
The model for this project is a 3D reconstruction of the private library of Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707), an Amsterdam patrician and VOC director. The library of the Peter De Graeff family serves as a rich starting point to explore the De Graeff and Bicker families and politics in 17th century Amsterdam. Inherited from prominent political figures within the family, including burgomasters of Amsterdam, the library offers insights into their interests and personalities. As a director of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), De Graeff’s collection included exotic objects alongside books, reflecting the global contacts of the era. With over 2300 books covering diverse topics such as history, politics, geography, medicine, numismatics and alchemy, the library provides a window into the knowledge and cultural landscape of the time. Another intriguing aspect to explore is the creation process behind the 3D reconstruction of the library, which involves utilising various sources such as De Graeff’s diary and probate inventory, as well as references from 17th-century dollhouses, paintings, and engravings. This part of the project offers valuable insights into the decision-making process and the rationale behind the choices made during reconstruction. Additionally, it presents an opportunity to examine how paradata can be effectively incorporated into 3D digital scholarship, enhancing the depth and authenticity of the virtual representation.
The research is part of the NWO funded Virtual Interiors as Interfaces for Big Historical Data project, housed at the University of Amsterdam. The project delves into the wealth of information surrounding the production and consumption of the Dutch Golden Age. By developing and publishing user interfaces for linked data on the Semantic Web, the project aims to provide accessible platforms for humanities research, cultural heritage preservation, and creative industries.
For more information about the Virtual Interiors Project, go to https://www.virtualinteriorsproject.nl/
3D Scholarly Edition Author: Chiara Piccoli
Chiara Piccoli is a Research Fellow and Data Scientist at the 4D Research Lab (Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam). Her research interests focus on urban and domestic contexts and on the application of 3D modelling and GIS mapping for the visualisation, analysis and communication of historical data.
In 2018-2022, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam in the NWO-funded project ‘Virtual Interiors as Interfaces for Big Historical Data’. During this project, she researched seventeenth-century Amsterdam houses and created 3D reconstructions of their interiors to investigate how domestic spaces were used and experienced. She is currently preparing a monograph on the private library of the Amsterdam patrician and VOC director Pieter de Graeff (Brill, accepted for publication).
Between 2010 and 2015, she was appointed researcher in the FP7 European project CEEDS – The Collective Experience of Empathic Data Systems. The project’s overarching goal was to develop innovative tools that would exploit implicit human responses to guide users in discovering patterns and meaning within large datasets.
In her PhD thesis (Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, 2018) Chiara explored the contribution of 3D procedural modelling and GIS for the analysis and visualisation of past cityscapes.
She holds a MA degree in Greek and Roman Archaeology (University of Siena, 2008) and a MA degree in Book and Digital Media Studies (Leiden University, 2010) for which she was awarded the Tiele-Stichting thesis prize in 2011 for the best thesis in the field of Book Studies in the Netherlands.
