Princessehof Ceramics Museum

The Princessehof is a museum of ceramics and porcelain in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden. The museum is housed in a baroque palace from the 17th century, which formerly served as the residence of the Princess Marie Louise of Hesse -Kassel. In 1917, the notary and art collector Nanne Ottema in this building, the museum Princessehof. The jointly with his wife Grietje Kingma gathered collection of Asian ceramics and porcelain is on loan from the Ottema - Kingma Foundation part of the permanent exhibition of the museum. Another focus of the museum are works of the Dutch Art Nouveau and Art Deco and contemporary objects, which can be seen in the Department of European porcelain and ceramics.

The Museum

The Princessehof is a 1693 built Baroque buildings. The name goes back to the wife of Prince Johann Wilhelm Friso of Nassau- Dietz, who reigned as governor of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. After her husband's death, she took over as regent for her son several years even this office. 1731, purchased the building in the Grote Kerkstraat, the goal for it to Princessehof. Your pottery collection forms the basis of the present museum and can be seen a Period Room in the baroque style, in the Nassau camera. The building was later divided into three houses. In mid 1898, the house was graphic artist MC Escher to the world. In 1917, the notary Nanne Ottema in Princessehof Ceramics Museum, which has since been showing his porcelain and ceramics collection. In addition, left Ottema, who wrote a handbook about collecting Chinese ceramics itself, the museum its specialized library with about 15,000 books. The museum also organizes regular temporary exhibitions.

Collection

The museum's collection has grown since the founding of the museum continuously to about 35,000 pieces. The oldest exhibits are Chinese ceramics dating from about 3,000 BC Total includes the Department of Chinese porcelain of the highlights of the museum. You can see the particular porcelain famille rose, famille verte and famille noire of the Qing Dynasty. Additional properties of the Asian department come from Japan and the former colony of the Dutch East Indies ( now Indonesia ). Islamic ceramics from Iran, Syria and Turkey are another collection of the Museum.

Versatile also is the European section of the museum. In addition to English Wedgwood pottery, Italian majolica and porcelain Meissen here find objects from Spain, France and Portugal. Much of this department takes on porcelain from the Netherlands. In addition to typical Delftware here are pieces of the Dutch Art Nouveau and Art Deco to see, as well as contemporary works by Karel Appel, Bart van der Leck and Lucebert. The museum also displays the original interior of the workshop of ceramic artist Jan van der Vaart ( 1931-2000 ). In the department of modern arts and crafts, there are still objects of Pierre Alechinsky, AR Penck and Pablo Picasso.