Faenza pottery lands in China

(AGI) Rome, Dec 5 - Selected pieces from the Museo Internazionale di Ceramiche (Mic - International Pottery Museum)in Faenza will be displayed in China. The travelling exhibition, running from December 9 to March 25, will be hosted by five major Chinese museums: Henan Museum, Zhejiang Provincial museum, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shanxi Museum and Shenzhen Museum. The 150 pieces, most of which are kept in the Mic storerooms, will tell the history of Italian majolica from the Middle Ages to our days. The aim of the event is to make Italian pottery traditions known to Chinese visitors. Faenza is one of the many production centres that since the Renaissance have developed this form of art. Archaic majolica pieces from Middle Ages, featuring their traditional geometric patterns, come originally from Faenza, Deruta, Casteldurante, Montelupo, Castelli, Urbino, Pesaro and Gubbio. The exhibition will include also preciously etched Renaissance pieces representing the opposite school of thought which, from the mid 16th century, simplified decorations using only a few colours. During the 18th century the first pieces of china from the Far East (China, Korea, Japan) arrived to Italy. At the same time pottery was being produced on a large scale, as it happened in England since 1740. In the 20th century, pottery is used in sculptures and design showing the influence of the history of art and its diverse currents. Picasso greatly contributed to transform this material into sculptures. Some of his works form part of the Mic collection, thanks to its founder, Gaetano Ballardini who contacted the artist after the museum was bombed during World War II. "The China Project is in line with the cultural policy pursued by our museum, which is open to different stimuli and is set to enhancing our heritage abroad," explained the Mic director,Claudia Casali. "This is a complex and rich exhibition designed to narrate the story of the Italian pottery culture, and its national and international scope." Eugenio Emiliani, president of the Faenza-based Mic Foundation, said: "this project , which is the result of international relations and organisational excellence, confirms the relevance of our museum as a national pottery cultural institution." (AGI).
.