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A-Z of Ceramics
Do you know your A-marked from your Factory Z? Gen up on your ceramics knowledge with our A-Z
Ceramics
Plan a visitThe V&A’s Ceramics collections are unrivalled anywhere in the world. Encyclopaedic and global in scope, they encompass the history of fine ceramic production from about 2500 BC to the present day.
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The collections are particularly strong in international contemporary studio ceramics, European porcelain and pottery from 1500 onwards, and ceramics from China, Japan and the Middle East. Highlights include the collections of Italian Renaissance maiolica, Chinese porcelain, Dutch Delft, British and European porcelain, 19th-century art pottery and exhibition pieces, and tiles.
Exploring Ceramics
Flower pyramid, probably 'Greek A' factory, around 1695, Holland. Museum no. C.19 to J-1982. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
'Polito's Royal Menagerie', earthenware figure group, about 1830, Staffordshire, England. Museum no. C.128-2003. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Figure (detail), Johann Joachim Kändler, about 1732, Germany. Museum no. C.111-1932. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
'Kestrel' coffee service (detail), made by Wood & Sons for The Susie Cooper Pottery, about 1932, England. Museum no. C.127-1985. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Sea sculpture (detail), unknown, around 1725, Vietnam. Museum no. FE.7-2007. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
'Sausage', Richard Slee, 2006, England. Museum no. C.78:1 to 5-2007. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Cornovaso, vase, Alessio Tasca, 1968, Italy. Museum no. CIRC.622-1972. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Learn more about Ceramics
Highlights from the Ceramics collection
Take a tour through the treasure trove ceramincs collection and discover some of its secrets
Piccolpasso's treatise on maiolica
The V&A not only holds the greatest collection of maiolica in the world, but also this unique treatise describing its manufacture.
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Shipwrecked ceramics
Discover the fascinating cargoes retrieved from Asian trade ships, wrecked in the South China Sea
Art Deco: Clarice Cliff
Discover how Clarice Cliff's bold, Art Deco ceramics brought modernity to the kitchen sink
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'Bowl' by Hans Coper
A rare work by influential studio potter Hans Coper joins the V&A's Ceramics collection
Presepio: an Italian Nativity scene
Our traditional Italian Nativity scene includes fascinating details about everyday life in 18th-century Naples
History of the Ceramics Galleries & Ceramic Staircase
This elaborate staircase was designed to highlight the versatility and beauty of decorative ceramics
